Try
by Utopia's Magic
Summary: When 18-year-old Tiffany Strong accidentally creates an incredibly evil digimon, she and five others are transported to the Digital World to fix the problems that this digimon has created, enjoying the misadventures with their digimon friends. Rated T for later on in the story. Updates on Sunday/Monday
1. So It Begins

Disclaimer! I own only my OCs and potentially a few of the OC digimon. Everything else is owned by Saban Brands.

Hope you all enjoy!

Try

Chapter 1

It was a cool summer afternoon in the middle of July, a rare occurrence in Missouri. Most of the state's residents would be outside, enjoying the summer sun while it's not so hot, as there would be very few days like that going into August and the rest of July. You could walk down any old neighborhood and watch kids play in hoses, jump in backyard pools, and blow bubbles so big that they would pop right in their faces! It should be a lovely time in the world now, right?

Wrong. This particular neighborhood was all cooped up inside on that cool summer day… You see, what was unique about this day, is that no weathermen throughout the country had been able to predict it. It had been scheduled to be a perfectly normal 102 degrees Fahrenheit, as it had been since mid-June. The cause of this drop in sudden coolness? To the average bystander, it was unknown. To the 18-year-old aspiring scientist, Tiffany Strong, it was completely logical.

The teen bustled around in her homemade laboratory in her basement of her parents' house. "Okay, we're getting close to actually starting this thing!" She exclaimed with joy and pulled another lever, making the temperature drop another ten degrees. "Oh…" She started fiddling around with the controls on the computer screen in front of her. "Well, that's not good." She muttered to herself as she dragged herself over to the pile of paperwork on one of the counters. Clearing the stack till she reached the bottom of the paper, she pulled out a tiny sheet that listed the dangers of her latest project. "Could end all humanity if given a chance." She read slowly, and then turned around. "Yeah, this is an issue." She dashed back to the lever, threw it back up, and in doing so, cut off the energy supply feeding into the giant tube in front of her. "Not today, you don't!"

She smiled and turned back around to look at the piece of paper again. "Okay, what else was on here that could be dangerous…" She felt a slow tap on her shoulder and assumed it was her parents. "Mom, Dad, go away. This is dangerous stuff right here." The tapping continued. "MOM!" She turned around, expecting to see her mom there, holding a plate of food for the hard-working girl.

Instead, she saw a shattered tube with a hexagonal shape hovering over it. She screamed, and leapt underneath one of the desks a second before it grew a spiked mace as an arm and swung it right where she had been standing. "Apocalymoooon." The creature growled, sending chills up Tiffany's spine. "Oh no… What have I created this time…" She groaned and was forced to quickly move again, as a sword now sprouted out of the hexagonal shaped spike ball. "Alright, I guess your name is Apocalymon? Well, you can never beat the person that created you, so get back in your tube and I'll disable this whole thing." It growled, and let out a shriek that shattered all of the glass in the house. "GOT IT! I will be getting out of your way while you go on your merry way or something." Tiffany ducked as the spiked mace swung back her way and destroyed the back part of her laboratory. "Noooo, not the lab!" She cried out, as she watched months of hard work go down the drain.

Apocalymon began to float out of the lab and into a portal that it had summoned. "Where are you going?" Tiffany yelled after it as the portal was closing. "Digital… World…" The creature telepathically put in her mind as the portal closed. "The digital world? What's that?" Tiffany muttered to herself and she set out to clean up what was left of her lab.

Two Years Later

A young boy walked outside, squinting up at the sun to get a rough estimate of the time. "Okay, I should have enough time to get back home then, right?" He asked himself, willing his body to keep moving. "I'm almost there. I can make it in time." He hefted his heavy backpack onto his small 16-year-old shoulders and almost fell over. "Come on now, no falling. You can see the door now." He worked his way up to the door and opened it, fully expecting a tirage of insults to come as he tracked snow into the house. "Mom, I'm back before 5. Do I get to eat now?" He asked the house, warily stepping in it and placing his backpack down.

He slowly explored the house, starting with the bedrooms, calling out for his mom every so often, but hoping that she wasn't there. "This is really confusing…" He reached the kitchen, and saw a note on the kitchen table. "Michael. This is probably weird for you since I've never called you by your name. But, there's a first time for everything I guess. Anyways, I digress. I left the house. For good. You've got about two hours as of 3:00 pm before the Child Welfare officers come to pick you up and take you to the orphanage. And yes, I was your biological mother. You have no family other than me and I don't want you anymore. Buh-bye." Michael put the note on the kitchen table and quickly glanced up at the clock. "Shoot. It's 4:55. Time to move. Grab food, water, and clothes. Maybe blanket if you can."

Michael dashed around the house, grabbing what he would need to survive as long as he could by himself. He got back in the kitchen right as he heard a knock on the door. "No, I need more time…" He muttered and stood up, already planning in his head. 'Okay, this is gonna be pretty simple. I'm not going to an orphanage, ever.' With his hastily put together plan, Michael grabbed one last item from its special place in the house and hid it with the rest of his belongings and opened the door. "Hi! You must be the officers."

Michael quickly glanced at the officers, judging that they were no more than those who would hop off the streets to do this job for some quick money. 'Not gonna be hard to outrun, the important part.' He went with the officers, grabbing his bag of stuff that he had quickly put together and went out to the car. He was very quiet as the officers started talking about the "exciting" weekend that they had the past weekend, forcing Michael to hold in his noises of disgust. Michael quickly started digging in his bag for his escape attempt, and was fortunate enough that the men were making enough noise just by talking that he was able to execute it.

He pulled out a small package and held it close as he slowly unlocked the door, praying that the two loudmouths in front wouldn't hear him. He heard a click, and the door unlocked itself. He held it up against the car, hoping the duo up front hadn't heard him.

To his relief, neither seemed to notice anything different. Instead, they turned on the radio, blasting it as loud as it could go. 'Thank everything possible for these two bumbling idiots.' Michael thought in his head and cracked open the door, letting the hot summer air come through. He glanced back up at the two men, and, seeing that they were still engaged in their conversation, waited until they reached a red light.

The car came to a quick halt at the next red light, giving Michael the opportunity to get out of the car. He had to time it correctly; otherwise he would've been seen, making his attempt a lot more difficult. Michael seized the opportunity when the two officers turned the radio to a heavy metal station that was in the middle of a very, very loud song. 'Here goes nothing!' He thought to himself, as he opened the door and jumped out of the car, letting the door gently close behind him.

The second his feet touched the ground, he started sprinting for cover in the group of tall trees that he could see off of the corner of the road. "Oh my god, I just did that." Michael panted while running, taking care to stay out of view of the front seats of the car. He dodged a couple of cars that were trying to cross the intersection and other lanes, and quickly jumped over one of the cards and landed into a roll that sent him on to the grass and behind the trees.

"Oh my god, I did that." Michael let out the breath he had been holding and looked around, expecting there to be someone there. "No? Okay, let's go. I don't have much time." He started running off, much deeper into the city.

Two Weeks Later

Tiffany, now 20-years-old, jostled her keys into the lock on her apartment door. "Come on, you stupid thing." She pushed on the door just slightly and it gave in, opening to her apartment. "Alright, gentle is best here." She smiled and placed her purse on the hook on the wall and grabbed her phone out of it. Putting the device in her pocket, she walked over to a pile of laundry on her bed and started folding it.

A quiet noise startled her and caused her to come out of her laundry-induced tired phase. "What was that?" She turned around, only to see a clearly hungry boy trying to sneak away from her purse. "Hold up now, that's not for you." She grabbed whatever was in the boy's hand and took it away from him. "Now, if you wanted some food, you could've just asked for some. I've got plenty." The kind young adult pulled out a granola bar from her purse and handed it to the dirty boy. "Thank you… Do you have one for Ally too?" The boy stepped to the side to reveal another person, this time, a girl, who was holding something else in her hand. "Here, don't worry about it." Tiffany handed the girl a granola bar as well, reaching into her kitchen to see what else she had in regards to food.

"Now, why are you two on the streets instead of at a home?" She asked, puzzled by why such a young boy and girl would be out on the streets and stealing. "My mom left me, and I found her being beat up by her dad." The boy explained, hugging Ally, and clearly showing support for the girl. "May I ask what your name is?" Tiffany squatted down to get a better look at the duo. "Yes. My name is Michael. I was the boy that escaped from the Child Welfare officers a few weeks back." Michael decided to trust Tiffany, as she had given them food and hadn't kicked them out yet. "Michael, what's that over there?" Ally pointed towards a shape in the corner of the room. "I don't know Ally. Excuse me, ma'am, but what is that in the corner?" "You can call me Tiffany."

Suddenly, the object jerked, and revealed itself in its entirety. "Apocalymon! What are you doing here?" Tiffany shrieked and stood in front of the two kids. "You… Are coming with me now!" It roared and Tiffany grabbed onto the first thing she could find, which was a bag of food, and prepared to swing it at Apocalymon, but was stopped in her tracks. "NOW!" It roared again and Tiffany, Ally, and Michael were thrown into a nearby portal to the digital world with whatever they had with them.

On the other side of town

A teenager lie face down on her bed, muttering incoherently in her sleep, seemingly looking for something. Her hand slammed down on a beeping alarm a few seconds later, momentarily stopping the annoying beeping noise. She groaned and lifted her head, searching for her phone. "Where did I put that?" She sat up and felt around her bed, finding her phone quickly after that. She quickly began getting ready for her day, slipping on her school clothes that she would normally wear, and stepped out of her room into the hallway and made her way to the kitchen, where her mom was waiting. "Good morning Linzi. Did you sleep well?" She asked, while Linzi made herself a bowl of cereal. "Yes, I did. It was really nice to sleep in my own bed again!"

"I'm glad. It was lonely being by myself for the weekend, but it's good that you enjoyed yourself at camp." Linzi's mom referenced the short Girl Scout camp that Linzi had just went to the previous weekend. "Now, remember that when you get home from school today, you've got to get that pack of yours put away and everything out of it cleaned, okay?" Her mom smiled. "Yep! I got it momma!" Linzi gave her mom a hug before she sat down with her cereal. She quickly tore through her cereal and got ready for her school day.

It didn't take long for her to notice that something was wrong. "Why is my hairdryer gone?" Linzi started digging around her bathroom for the electronic. "And why is there water dripping from the ceiling?" She opened the door to the bathroom and was greeted by a wave of water pushing its way in. "What? Where am I?' Linzi stepped into the hallway and looked out the window. "What." Outside the window, a small school of fish swam by. "I'm underwater…" Quickly grabbing her pack from the weekend prior and opened the front door, more than ready to swim to the surface, no matter how far away it was.

In The Real World

"Now, it begins…" Apocalymon took one last glance at the real world before entering back into the digiworld, watching as a strong-looking teen glared at the creature with hate in his eyes. "YOU! I'LL GET YOU BACK FOR THIS IF IT'S THE LAST THING I DO!" The teen stood in the ruins of his house, where his parents lie, buried into the ground because of the rubble. "Have fun trying…" Apocalymon disappeared, and the portal began closing. "Not without me you don't!" The hotheaded teen ran into the portal after Apocalymon, reappearing in the digital world in a massive jungle. "Oh no… Where am I?" The boy groaned and buried his face in his hands.

"I might as well keep moving to try to find civilization, I guess." He began pushing through the ferns and plants to move towards a small clearing. "I'll be able to see the surroundings a bit better then." He quickly reached the clearing and glanced around. "It seems to be safe…" He stepped out into the clearing and heard a screech from a nearby tree. "What was that? Who is there?" He yelled, hoping to hear a human voice. "GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! YOU DARE INVADE MY TERRITORY?" A human-sized flying insect flew out from the trees, swinging its arms so that the trees around it were cut down. "Ooooh, a tasty little treat! Time to gobble him up! Brown Stingers!" The stingers that had been previously unseen to the teen revealed themselves and began to shine a dark brown color.

The teen quickly dodged to the side, avoiding the powerful strike that the insect had fired off from its stingers. "START RUNNING!" He began running through the trees with the intention of hopefully quickly loosing the monster.

Nearby, another boy sat down, exhausted from walking all day. "Okay, I've literally walked all day Jacob… There's no one around here…" He sniffled and stood back up again, preparing his legs to move so he could walk some more.

The other teen ran past Jacob, screaming his lungs out the entire time. "What? What is…" Jacob turned around to see the bug-monster preparing an attack. "Poison Powder!" "AIYEEEEEEEE!" Jacob threw himself to the right, causing the attack to miss once again. "SOMEONE HELP MEEEEE!" He cried out as the insect thing bore down on him.

Underneath Jacob's feet, a small glow emanated and revealed itself to him. The glow belonged to a small blue and green device. "Genomon… Digivolve toooo!" A cute pink puffball jumped out from one of the bushes and stood in front of Jacob. "Caninmon!" A small black dog now stood in front of Jacob growling at the insect creature. "What? Who are you and why are you helping me?" Jacob was terrified and slowly panicking. "My name is Caninmon! I'm your digimon partner and my job is to protect you from nasty guys like Flymon!" Caninmon growled at Flymon. "You just let me handle it from here, okay?" "Um… Okay! You go Caninmon!" Jacob cheered on his savior. "Hyper Blast!" Caninmon jumped in the air and opened his mouth, revealing sharp fangs that glowed and sent a blast of electricity towards Flymon.

The electricity connected, stunning Flymon for a few minutes. "Quickly! We've got to get out of here!" Caninmon nosed Jacob, pushing him away from Flymon. Jacob quickly got the memo and began running away from the stunned Flymon, with Caninmon hot on his heels. The two moved past several more clearings, tramping down the grass and ferns as they raced through the jungle. "Have!" Jacob tried to talk to Caninmon, bust lost his breath midway. "Have we lost that evil creature?" The two slowed to a stop. "I think so…" Caninmon quickly replied, panting. The dog creature began sniffing around the small area that they had found themselves in. "It seems to be all clear!" Caninmon barked happily.

"Um… Pardon me, but what are you?" Jacob blurted out, breaking the silence that had been hovering over the duo's heads as they explored the area. "Well, my name is Caninmon!" Caninmon barked. "I'm your partner digimon!" "My partner what now? What is a digimon?" Jacob looked at the dog again, examining him. "A digimon partner! I've been waiting for you my entire life and now you've finally come to the digital world!" Caninmon, newly excited, started running circles around Jacob. "Where is the digital world? Am I going to be able to get back to my parents? My friends?" Jacob looked at the sky. "This sky is unlike anything I've ever seen before."

Caninmon nuzzled Jacob's leg. "Don't worry about getting home for now! We've got to find the others, and then you can get home." His nose perked up. "Others? Who are the others?" Jacob asked, now thoroughly confused. "All I wanted was a pizza!" He exclaimed. "We have to keep moving. Flymon is still looking for us and he'll find us if we stay still." Caninmon trotted off in another direction, forcing Jacob to run after the digimon. 'And what is this blue and green device in my hand? So many questions and so few answers!' His hand went into his pocket, where the device lay after he picked it up when Caninmon saved him.

In the Same Jungle, Near a Clifftop

Ally, Michael, and Tiffany were sitting on a large rock in the jungle. The younger two were clearly exhausted while Tiffany was getting short of breath from the amount of walking they had to do. "Where the heck are we?" Michael was getting frustrated at the jungle. "Michael, calm down. None of us know where we are, and I'm sure we'll find a way to get out of here eventually." Ally spoke quietly, hoping to ease Michael's quickly growing temper. "Yeah, we'll find our way out of here! In fact, I thought I saw water earlier, and that's got to be a sign of some sort of civilization." Tiffany stood up again, using her height to her advantage as she looked around for the water again. "Over there! We should start heading that way!" She started moving again and Michael and Ally followed.

The three slowly made their way to the water that Tiffany thought she saw earlier. However, they quickly came to a cliff that fell sharply into a huge ocean. "Well… Scratch that idea, I guess…" Tiffany trailed off and started looking over the cliff. Ally started looking near the edge. "There seems to be a pathway down." She said quietly, getting Michael's attention. "Tiffany, look over here. There's a pathway down." Tiffany quickly walked over to the duo and looked at the narrow path. "That's really small. I hope it's stable." She put one foot on it and it didn't crumble. "It seems to be stable." Ally pointed out and started heading down. "Well, I guess we're going down." Michael chuckled and followed her down while Tiffany slowly went behind him.

About halfway down the path, Ally stopped suddenly. "The path stops here. We have to go back up." She frowned and turned around. Suddenly, the cliff began to shake and the path started to crumble. "HURRY! BACK UP THE CLIFF!" Michael yelled and started pushing Tiffany back up the path. Tiffany quickly started climbing back up the path, moving faster that she ever had gone before. "Almost there!" She yelled back to Ally and Michael.

"GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR! WHY DO YOU INVADE MY TERRITORY?" A voice growled from deep within the cliffside. "What was that?" Ally screamed as the path collapsed even more. "GRAAAAAAAAH!" Tiffany, at the top of the cliff, shrieked at the sight of the monster at the top. "DIGMON DOESN'T LIKE INVADERS!" A yellow and black digimon with drills all around its body, giving it many easy ways to dig holes. "PREPARE TO DIE! DRILL BLAST!" Two of the digimon's drills detached and fired themselves like torpedoes at Tiffany and the cliff.

Tiffany quickly dodged to the side and one of the drills flew off of the edge of the cliff. The second drill, however, flew into the cliffside path and knocked Ally and Michael off of the path, sending them falling down to the water below. "DRILL BLAST!" Digmon yelled and fired off two more drills, sending them at Michael and Ally, intending to hit them dead on.

In Michael's back pocket however, the blue and green device began to glow a bright white light, and at the top of the cliff, a tiny voice could be heard yelling, "FRENMON… DIGIVOLVE TOOOOO!" A small white digimon with two antennae jumped out from the bushes and was replaced by a larger gray and white monkey-looking creature. "CHINCHILMON!" Chinchilmon jumped off of the cliff and used its two tails to grab Michael and Ally. Using one of her arms, Chinchilmon also grabbed onto a twig that had been protruding from the cliff. "HURRY WEREMON!" She cried out as the blue and green device in Ally's side pocket began glowing.

A small orange and red colored fluffball jumped off of the cliff as well, aiming for the three on the twig. "WEREMON DIGIVOLOVE TOOOOOO!" She announced and she started glowing. "KANGAMON!" The newly digivolved kangaroo-esque digimon landed on the cliff. "POWERFUL KICK!" Kangamon grabbed a hold of Chinchilmon's free arm and kicked off of the cliff, giving the foursome a circle trajectory, letting them fall back onto the cliff, terrified for their lives. Tiffany stood on the other side of the agitated Digmon, trying to distract it with a tree limb that she had grabbed. "OVER HERE YOU TINY-BRAINED MOLE!" She yelled and smacked it on the head. "GRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!" Digmon turned quickly and drilled a hole in the limb, causing Tiffany to jump back in fear.

"AIEEEE!" She screamed as the digimon advanced on her and prepared another drill blast. On her hair band, however, another blue and green device shined brightly and a third quiet voice could be heard. "COOMON DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOO!" A tiny white blob jumped out from the bushes and was quickly replaced by a bipedal fox creature with brown fur. "AZUREMON!" The digimon jumped in front of Tiffany, assuming a defensive stance. "Do not worry now, Tiffany. I am here to protect you." He spoke, growling quietly. Kangamon and Chinchilmon nodded to Michael and Ally. "That's right! We're your digimon partners and we're gonna get rid of this nasty digimon!" Chinchilmon cheered and began running at the Digmon. "Digmon is going down!" Kangamon made one single jump and landed on top of the drill digimon.

"Powerful kick!" She exclaimed as she landed, stunning Digmon while Chinchilmon readied himself. "Tail spin!" Chinchilmon jumped in the air and turned around while his two tails began spinning around incredible fast, creating an air current that distracted Digmon and forced to move into a better position. "Trian beam!" Azuremon jumped back and thrust his hands out in a triangle pattern. The pattern glowed and shot out a bright blue beam that struck Digmon on his chest, sending the digimon stumbling backwards, tottering near the edge of the cliff. "NO! GET OUT!" It shrieked and fired off another two drill blasts at its feet, breaking the cliff and causing it to begin crumbling. "MOVE NOW!" Tiffany grabbed Ally and began running into the jungle again, with Michael and the three digimon following. Michael turned around at one point to see the Digmon falling into the ocean, creating a large splash and a loud roar from the sea.

Once the three had gone a sizable way into the forest, they came to a halt and turned to look at the digimon. "Yay! That Digmon was one nasty creature!" Chinchilmon cheered and jumped on Michael's shoulder. "What are you little guys?" Ally asked them, bending down to look Kangamon in the eye. "Well, to put it simply, we're your digimon partners!" Kangamon replied eagerly, bouncing and down. "Well, I say that if you can help us get home, that's all good with me!" Ally laughed and patted Kangamon on the head.

Azuremon and Tiffany stared at each other, trying to gauge the other. "Well, you sure did good back there." Tiffany cracked first and smiled, while giving the rookie-level digimon a hug. "It's nothing. I did what I had to do." Azuremon brushed it off. "We must find the other digimon and their partners. It is not safe to stay in one area for very long anymore." He quickly started moving north and the others had no choice but to follow him. "Other partners? Are there other humans here who have befriended digimon?" Tiffany asked. "You could say that!" Kangamon bounced ahead. "And what are these devices?" Michael held his blue and green device up for the three digimon to see. "That's your digivice! It's what helps me digivolve so I can protect you!" Chinchilmon explained to him. "All of the chosen have one and it's what distinguishes them from other humans." Azuremon included and continued walking. "Hm… This will be interesting. Not exactly what I signed up for, but whatever." Ally shrugged and continued onwards, with the other four following her and Azuremon.


	2. Enter, the Dark Strip!

Disclaimer! I own only my OCs and potentially a few of the OC digimon. Everything else is owned by Saban Brands.

Hope you all enjoy!

Chapter 2

Digital Ocean

Linzi looked up at the surface of the water that she was swimming under. 'This does not seem to be going well at all…' She thought, panic quickly setting in. 'I'm going to run out of air, this is not good. I don't want to drown…' She began swimming quickly to the top of the water. 'Ouch, my ears…. But I have to get to the top…' She began feeling the pressure of the water in her ears, causing them to pop as she quickly swam to the top. 'I… gotta hurry… I can't be known as the girl who drowned.' She began seeing stars as she neared the surface of the water.

Fortunately, the girl reached the surface of the water just in the nick of time. "Oh my gosh, where is land?" She immediately began searching around for any land, seeing only a large beach that was about 100 yards away. "Better get swimming then." She began to use her swim training as a Girl Scout to cross the distance as fast as she could, but knew that she would run out of energy soon.

The blond-haired girl quickly made it to the halfway point before feeling the pull. "Oh no… The tide is going out…" She screamed in her head and kept fighting even harder to reach the shore, despite the tide's pull out to the open sea. 'Keep fighting Linzi… You are stronger than this…' Soon, she began to feel a tug on her leg as well. 'What now? I hope it's not anything bad!' She began to overthink what it could be. 'A blood-sucking shark? What if it's a jellyfish? I don't know where I am! I can't deal with a man-of-war sting!' The tug became stronger, much faster, and Linzi was pulled underwater.

'What is that accursed tugging!' She was quickly growing frustrated and terrifying and turned around to see what the tug was. "AHHHH!" Linzi screamed underwater and inhaled some water. "Octomoooooon!" The octopus-like digimon had one of its tentacles on her leg and was gradually pulling her towards its opened mouth. 'THINK QUICKLY!' Linzi looked around for anything that could help her, and grabbed one of the tent stakes from her bag out and smacked the tentacle. "OCTOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" The digimon shrieked and let go, leaving bloody sucker-shaped wounds on her leg. 'OW! SON OF A NASTY WORD!' She screamed inwardly and quickly began swimming away from the hungry digimon.

It didn't take long for her to make it to shore, even with her injured leg. "Boom. That's how you outswim a hungry, predatory octopus…" She looked at the water to see the digimon climbing out of the water. "I'm screwed." She sighed and she tried to stand up. "OCTOOOOOOOOOO!" The digimon raised a sword that it had in one of its tentacles. "Alrighty, listen here sea food. You may be twice my size, and I may have a hurt leg, but you are not getting me without a fight!" She yelled and lifted her tent stake. However, both of them were distracted by the glowing light of a digivice on Linzi's belt and the sudden emergence of another player on the field. A small yellow and green ball came flying out of the ocean and smacked Octomon on the head. "NUBAXIEMON DIGIVOLVE TOOOOO!" The small ball digivolved into a quadruple legged seal-looking creature with a horn on its head. "TORPEDOMON!" She yelled and jumped in front of Linzi. "Don't worry girl! I got this overgrown sea food! You take care of your leg!" Torpedomon blocked the sword strike that Octomon had sent down.

"HORN BLASTER!" Torpedomon's horn came off and fired itself at Octomon, stunning it for a few precious seconds that Linzi needed to get away from the fight. She took clear advantage of it, and quickly began looking for the first aid kit in her bag and began cleaning her wounds. "OCTOOOOOMOOOON!" The Octomon's sword began to glow, and it hit Torpedomon right on the head. "Ow… That makes me dizzy…" She began shuffling over to Linzi, determined to protect her despite Torpedomon's dizziness. "Torpedomon, be careful!" Linz yelled as she tried to stand up and get farther away from the Octomon that was heading right towards her. 'OCTOOOOOOOOMOOOOOOOON!" The Octomon began reaching its tentacles towards Linzi and she screamed. "NO! I'LL PROTECT YOU!" Torpedomon yelled and Linzi's digivice began glowing again, as did Torpedomon.

"TORPEDOMOOOOOOOOOON!" A stream of energy from Linzi's digivice flew into Torpedomon, who began shedding her skin, revealing a beautiful blue and white skin that flowed into a more streamline shape. She lost her legs, but gained a pair of wings that also served as fins in water on the side of her body. "DIGIVOOOOOLVE TOOOOOOOO!" The stream of data continued, as her new skin covered her entire body. "DOLFINOMOOOOOOON!" The newly digivolved Dolfinomon glared at Octomon, who charged at her. "Alright, well, I can play that game too!" Dolfinomon flew past Octomon as fast as she could, throwing his balance off. "Octo!" "Now! Here's a taste of your own medicine! AQUA BLASTER!" Dolfinomon opened her mouth and began charging a massive blast of water. "OCTOMON!" The octopus-digimon began charging at Dolfinomon, but was halted in his tracks. "HIYAAAAAAA!" Dolfinomon let loose the deluge of water in her mouth at high speeds, sending Octomon high in the air and far out into the ocean, landing with a massive splash and pained cries. "Ha! That serves him!"

Dolfinomon glowed with a soft yellow right and dedigivolved back to Torpedomon. "Oh dear… I'm tired now." She made her way over to Linzi. "Are you okay?" She nuzzled the injured girl's hand. "Yeah, I'm fine now. Thank you for helping, but if I may ask, who are you?" Linzi looked puzzled at both Torpedomon and her digivice. "My name is Torpedomon and I'm your digimon partner and protector! I'm to help you and protect you until this place gets fixed up." Linzi looked confused. "What? Why was I brought here?" She asked, confusion etched on her face. "You were one of the chosen ones. There are others like you here, and we've got to find them soon." Torpedomon quickly looked around, very nervous.

"HEY! OVER HERE!" Linzi and Torpedomon glanced up into the forest. "Do you folks happen to know where I can get a bus home?" The teen that was originally attacked by Flymon walked out of the trees with another digimon on his shoulder. "Hi! My name is Ravenmon!" The new digimon exclaimed. "And my name is Luke." Luke smiled and sat down next to Linz and Torpedomon. "Your leg is hurt. We should probably stay here for a bit." Luke noticed and began dressing it. "Ouch! You be careful there." Linz winced as Luke cleaned out the more shallow wounds. "Sorry, but it's going to sting. I've got to clean them somehow." He grimaced as he continued to work. "I know, but it doesn't mean I can't complain about it." Linzi stuck her tongue out at Luke. "That's true, that's true." He conceded.

"How did you get here, anyways?" Linzi asked the boy. "I'm not sure at all. All I know is that the strange creature that destroyed my house opened up this weird portal, and I followed it through the portal to stop it from hurting anybody else." Luke looked away into the trees and frowned. "What's the matter?" She asked him. "Oh, it's nothing. I'm just wondering if we'll be able to get home…" He trailed off and looked to Ravenmon. "Well, don't worry buddy! We'll make sure that you and Linzi get home." Ravenmon cawed and flew around the beach before landing in front of Torpedomon. "Right?" "That's right! We'll get you home in no time at all." Torpedomon barked happily. "Never forget that we're your partners. We'll help you in any way we can." She smiled and watched as Ravenmon flew over the jungle to see if there was any trouble.

"Anything up there, Ravenmon?" Luke called out to the bird digimon. "Not that I can see!" He called back and Linzi smiled. "Good. Are all digimon like that, Torpedomon?" She asked her partner. "Well, most digimon are kind and peaceful creatures. There are those that are hostile when you get in their territory though, and then some digimon like Octomon eat whatever they can to get by and survive, so it's more of a survival aspect of their life." Torpedomon explained, glancing back at the ocean. "Oh… Well, I'm happy that I have you to protect me then." Linzi hugged her partner. "I'm happy that you're happy!" She replied, smiling. Luke laughed at the two and waved at Ravenmon to come down. "We've got to rest here for a bit so Linzi can use her leg again." He explained as Ravenmon landed on his head, causing Linzi to burst out laughing.

In the Jungles

Caninmon and Jacob finally stopped walking and sat down after about an hour of walking. "I'm so tired… Have we lost Flymon?" Jacob sighed and asked Caninmon. "Well, I think we have. My nose is telling me that we have, and I trust my nose." The dog-digimon sniffed around again for a second check while Jacob sat down. "I can only go so much farther…" He moaned and froze up when he heard the rustling of leaves. "Caninmon. Someone's here." He whispered, and Caninmon pointed and crouched down, ready to attack whatever was in the leaves.

"Calm down there, Caninmon! It's me, Kangamon!" Kangamon bounced out of the bushes and called back to the other five. "HEY GUYS! I FOUND CANINMON!" Chinchilmon was the next out of the bushes, followed quickly by Tiffany and Michael, with Ally and Azuremon bringing up the rear. "Caninmon, I missed you!" Kangamon bounced up to the black dog-digimon and hugged him around the neck. "I missed you too, Kangamon!" Caninmon licked her face. "Ewww! Nasty tongue!" She giggled. "They really really really really like each other." Chinchilmon jumped on Michael's shoulder and whispered into his ear, causing the boy to smirk. "It seems like it." He whispered back, causing Chinchilmon to giggle.

"Azuremon, who are they?" Tiffany seemed a bit more cautious. "That's Caninmon and his partner. They are another duo of the chosen." Azuremon smiled. "It seems that we are slowly finding everyone." "How many are left?" Jacob asked, looking at the bipedal digimon. "Two. They should be near here, right Azuremon?" Kangamon asked the taller digimon. "Indeed they should be." He affirmed, using the power in his legs to jump up in one of the trees to see out farther. "He'll be down in a second." Tiffany reassured the group.

True to what Tiffany said, Azuremon jumped down from the tree. "There is water that way. We should begin heading down there." He quickly began moving, while the others gathered themselves. "Sheesh. He's so impatient!" Tiffany ran after her partner. "Well, we better hurry!" Caninmon and Michael ran ahead while Jacob helped Ally up, while Chinchilmon and Kangamon quickly began moving. "Hi. My name's Jacob." Jacob told Ally when she had got her feet on the ground. "My name is Ally." She smiled at the slightly taller boy and continued onto the group.

Down at the Beach

Linzi stood up. "I think I can walk now. We better keep moving just in case any nastier digimon come along." Luke nodded and stood up as well, grabbing his backpack while she grabbed hers. "Oof! Water makes this thing that much heavier." She laughed and straightened up, popping her back as she did so. The two began walking away from the beach while Torpedomon and Ravenmon followed a little ways behind them, talking.

"The other digimon are near. If we stay here just a bit longer, we'll be able to see everyone again!" Torpedomon argued. "Yes, we best do what we can to keep them here for a bit longer while the others get the other chosen here." Ravenmon agreed and fluttered up to Luke and began whispering in his ear. "There are others here?" Luke's mouth dropped open and he told Linz what Ravenmon had just told him. "Ravenmon here says that there are other kids who got stranded here like us and that they're on their way here!" Linz smiled with joy. "We should head back to the beach then." She turned around and they quickly left behind the jungle again to go back to the beach.

"Okay, so now do we? Just wait for them?" Linz asked, looking out at the ocean nervously. "I don't want that Octomon to come back while we're still here." She bit her lip and looked at the ground while Luke shrugged. "This is what Ravenmon said we needed to do, and I trust him." Ravenmon cawed and flew up to Luke's cheek and nuzzled it. "Thank you Luke! I appreciate your trust of me already!" "It's no problem little buddy. You're the only help we've got and we need to trust you since we're not from here." Linzi nodded and glanced down at Torpedomon, who had snuggled up to her leg. "That's right girl! We need you, otherwise I would've been octopus bait there earlier, and that is not my ideal future career choice!" Linzi laughed and petted the digimon.

"HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEY! OVER HERREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" Jacob yelled and began climbing down the cliff to the beach. "What does he see?" The shortest member of their group, Ally, asked Kangamon. "Hmm… I don't know! Tiffany, what does he see?" The Kangaroo digimon asked the tall girl, who replied with a shrug. "He's probably got better eyes than I do. I can't see anything from up here, except the ocean." "Well, I guess we better follow him." Michael began climbing down the cliff as well, with Caninmon and Chinchilmon quickly making their way down the cliff. Tiffany let Ally go first, making sure that the younger girl wasn't falling before heading down the cliff, leaving Azuremon at the top. "Coming, Azuremon?" Tiffany called up to the stoic digimon. "Yes, I am simply thinking…" "About what?" Tiffany decided to see if she could get a better view on her new partner. "The dangers of this world. It is more dangerous than you could ever imagine, Tiffany. There are digimon that are far stronger than that Digmon at the cliff." Azuremon sighed and jumped off of the cliff, landing nimbly on his feet at the bottom. "Hm… What does he mean by that? I'm sure that we can take care of any digimon with all of us working together." She continued her climb down the cliff, reaching Ally who was waiting for her at the bottom.

"Look over there Luke!" Linzi pointed to the other side of the beach, where a sharp cliff rose up and led to the jungle. Torpedomon looked up and excitedly started barking and running towards the four people and four digimon. "HI EVERYONE! IT'S SO NICE TO SEE EVERYONE AGAIN!" She came to a halt and beckoned Linzi forward. "Linzi, Luke, these are the other chosen!" Ravenmon also flew up, beating both Luke and Linzi to the other group that were running towards them. Linzi and Luke looked at each other, smiled, and quickly sped up their pace to reach the other group.

"Well hi everyone! Interesting to see you over here." Caninmon woofed and smiled at the newcomers. "Well, we couldn't stay away for that long. Strength in numbers and all that." Ravenmon cawed and flew around Luke's head. "Hi! My name is Luke, and this is Linzi. We only met a little bit ago, but man, it sure is good to see some friendly faces!" He exclaimed and picked up Ravenmon. "This is my partner, Ravenmon." "And this is my partner, Torpedomon! She's also even digivolved into this awesome digimon called Dolfinomon!" Linzi introduced her digimon. "Awesome, Torpedomon! You digivolved into your champion level!" Chinchilmon cheered, and Azuremon smiled as well. "Your power and ability to digivolve came from your partner, did it not?" He asked. "Well, yeah! Linzi here was so brave, that she thought she was going to take on an Octomon with only a metal pole and a hurt leg! I had to help out." Torpedomon blushed.

"Wow! That sounds like quite a story!" Kangamon bounced around the group in circles. "Is she always like this?" Linzi whispered to Torpedomon. "Yeah, she's always been a bit excitable." She whispered back, and the two giggled. Azuremon quickly turned his head to the left. "Be vigilant. Something is coming." He assumed a fighting pose and the others turned to watch the jungle. Kangamon jumped back over to Ally and Chinchilmon quickly dashed on top of people's heads to reach Michael. "Caninmon, where are you at?" The dog digimon quickly ran back from where he was behind the rest of the group to stand next to Jacob, growling softly at the hidden creature in the jungle.

"GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" A blur jumped out of the bushes. "KOROKO DRILL!" The dodo-looking digimon that was clearly flightless shot off its beak like it was a propeller. "EVERYONE MOVE!" Michael yelled and pulled Ally away out of the way as the group split up. "Korokomon!" Korokomon cried out again and charged at Luke. "Alright, you overgrown birdbrain! Let's go!" Luke yelled as he ducked quickly and pulled a wooden branch off of the ground and turned to the Korokomon. "Let's see if you like the taste of your own medicine!" He threw the branch at the Korokomon, which promptly caught it and broke it in half. "KOROKOMOOOON!" Its beak flew off again and sent itself directly at Luke, who dodged out of the way in the nick of time. "I think I underestimated this thing! Somebody help me!"

"Torpedomon, can't you help him?" Linzi looked at the digimon. "I'm sorry Linzi, but I'm all out of energy. That fight with Octomon took a lot out of me." She frowned, but Linzi patted her on the head. "It's okay, we'll just have to keep you super well rested and fed!" She smiled and looked at the other digimon. "Can any of you help?" Ally asked the question that they all wanted to know. "I sure can!" Ravenmon charged at the Korokomon that was slowly approaching Luke. "FIRE SPRAY!" Ravenmon cried and sent a blast of fire breath at the Korokomon, which turned around. "Come on you guys! We've got to help!" Chinchilmon and Kangamon began to attack as well.

"Powerful… Ugh…" Kangamon dropped to the ground, clearly exhausted. "Taaaaail spin!..." Chinchilmon's attack failed as well. "Our attacks aren't working! We're too tired from defeating those other digimon earlier." Azuremon dropped to one knee as he and Caninmon tried to use their attacks. "He's right. It's up to Ravenmon now." Caninmon barked, looking at the Korokomon.

"Ravenmon, watch out!" Luke's warning prevented Ravenmon from being caught off guard from the Korokomon's attack, barely missing the bird digimon. "How'd you like that fire spray?" Ravenmon sent out another attack, hitting the Korokomon again. "GRAAAAAAAAH! KOROKO DRILL! KOROKO DRILL!" The Korokomon quickly sent out two more drills from its horn, one at Ravenmon, the other at Luke. "RAVENMON! BE CAREFUL!" Luke cried out as one of the Koroko drills struck his partner. He turned his attention back to the one that was following him, ready to either dodge it or brace for impact.

Ravenmon weakly lifted his head from where he lay on the sand, weakened by the Koroko Drill, but desperately wanting to save his partner. "LUKE! WATCH OUT!" Ravenmon yelled in fear as the Koroko Drill came closer and closer.

"Wait! Look on his belt loop!" Tiffany cried out. Luke's digivice began shining brightly, as did Ravenmon. "It's another digivolution!" Michael celebrated while Jacob looked on, intrigued by the device.

"RAVENMOOOOON!" Ravenmon's feathers began to turn all sorts of colorful colors, and his beak began to grow to a much larger size. He also grew both in length and in height, now able to fly faster than he was before with his powerful wings. "DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOO!" His feet also changed color into a bright orange, matching his bright orange and yellow beak. "TOUCAMON!" The newly digivolved digimon quickly went to work.

"FIERY WING!" Toucamon cried out, setting his wing ablaze and throwing the fire at the Koroko Drill, successfully destroying the drill before it hurt Luke. "LUKE! GET OUT OF THERE! LEAVE KOROKOMON TO ME!" Toucamon began to fly up in the air while Luke managed to scramble around Korokomon until he reached the main group. "NOW KOROKOMON! HOW DO YOU LIKE MY FIERY WING?" Toucamon screeched and sent another wing of fire at the flightless digimon, whose lack of wings were really hurting now, lowering its ability to dodge attacks. The attack landed directly on it, sending it hurtling backwards into the cliff. "KOROKOMON!" The digimon got back up, stumbling every which way.

"TOUCAMON! AIM FOR ITS BACK! IT HAS SOMETHING ON IT, I THINK!" Luke hollered at Toucamon. "You got it boss! One fried bird, coming up! FIERY WING!" Toucamon threw another wing of fire at the Korokomon that was still stunned from the collision with the cliff. It connected and landed on Korokomon's back, sending it into the sand. "KRAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" It shrieked in pain as a black strip flew off of it and was destroyed. "What was that?" Ally wondered, seeing the strip disappear.

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry for that awful misfortune that I caused you children. I promise that it will never happen again, I truly do. That Dark Strip is the work of demon spawn, let me tell you." Korokomon profusely apologized before running off back into the jungle. "Well, he was certainly a strange one." Michael commented while watching Tiffany. "What are you thinking Tiffany?" He asked the older girl. "If that was only one of the weaker digimon here, then we're in for the fight of our lives here. We've got to be prepared for anything…" She sighed, and looked back to Michael. "But I know we'll make it through." Ally stepped up to her and told her confidently. "Yeah! Ally's right!" Jacob smiled and stepped up to the group as well. "Of course! Torpedomon and I will do our part to get us back home." Linzi smiled down at her partner and joined the circle that they had formed. "That's right. We're our best chance of getting home, and if that pizza is cold by the time we get back, I'll sue the pizza place!" Luke got a laugh out of the group and they put their hands in the center of the circle. "Ready? On three, coming home. One! Two! THREE!" The chosen threw their hands up in the air. "GOING HOME!" They left the beach and continued walking into the jungle together, ready for whatever could possibly come their way.


	3. Trileptimon's Shining Moment!

Disclaimer! I own only my OCs and potentially a few of the OC digimon. Everything else is owned by Saban Brands and the song is owned by Allison Iraheta, and her band Halo Circus.

Hope you all enjoy!

Chapter 3

"So… Where are we going?" Ally asked Kangamon, who was leading the group. "Well, right now, we're just walking around, looking for a place to stay the night." She told the youngest of the group. "Okay then. That works for me!" She smiled. "How is she always so cheerful?" Linzi asked Michael, who, with her, was making sure nobody fell behind. "She's always been cheerful. Even when I found her, all alone and by herself, she was always smiling." Michael whispered back to Linzi. "How cute. That's a really special quality to have." Linzi and Michael continued walking in silence.

"Okay, so what do you guys normally do around here when there's not evil digimon trying to murder you?" Jacob laughed and asked Azuremon and Caninmon. Tiffany, who was walking near Azuremon, leaned in, eager to hear the answer. "Well, I can't speak for Azuremon, but I always love searching for berries and hiding them in small holes that I would dig." Caninmon barked happily and glanced up at his partner. "Well, I loved climbing trees and looking out at the world from the top of the tree." Azuremon smiled, and Tiffany gave the digimon a hug, surprising him. "Ha! I told you that I'd surprise him!" She turned around and stuck her tongue out at Linzi. "Did you make a bet with her?" Luke turned to a surprised Linzi. "Noooooo, definitely not!" "I think your innocent expression could use a bit of work." Michael commented, sending the group into peals of laughter.

"Hey! Look over there guys!" Kangamon piped up and called the group's attention to what she had seen. "Are those…" Ally trailed off, waiting for confirmation. "THEY ARE! LET'S GO GUYS!" Luke began running through the jungle as fast as he could to get to the power lines. The others quickly followed him, the digimon being thoroughly confused.

"Michael, what are these?" Chinchilmon touched one and quickly took his hand off of it. "Ow! It's so hot!" He whined. "Well yeah! It's full of electricity that will shock you." Michael explained. "These are power lines that carry electricity that lets us use things that we couldn't normally use." Tiffany explained to the confused digimon. "Can't you just shock these things yourself?" Caninmon asked. "No buddy, we don't have the crazy awesome powers that you guys have!" Jacob laughed and ruffled the dog digimon's fur. "Watch the fur! I just cleaned it yesterday." He pouted, causing Jacob to laugh.

"Linzi, are these things normal in your world?" Torpedomon asked the girl who was digging around one of the lines. "Yes, but normally they come attached to a pole, so that there's no risk of someone being hurt…" Torpedomon helped her dig out a small ditch to find the pole, but there was not one there! "Hm… Intriguing! I wonder if there's civilization near here." Tiffany began to look in the nearby bushes. "Careful Tiffany! Don't go too far out!" Azuremon followed her. "No need to worry, I'll be fine." The 20-year-old called back, quickly going out of sight of the main group.

"Hey guys! I think I found something too!" Tiffany yelled after a short lull. "What is it?" Luke called out to her. "It looks like it's an abandoned mobile home!" "What? An abandoned mobile home here, of all places?" Linzi wondered out loud, with Ally nodding. "It sounds suspicious." She let her concerns be known. "It does indeed, but it sounds like a good place to stay the night, and that's my number one concern." Jacob followed the path that Tiffany took, with the digimon and the other four following him. "I'm not quite so sure about this, but let's check it out, I guess." Michael was very reluctant, but followed the group anyways, Chinchilmon was the last one behind Michael, and he watched his partner, worry in his eyes. 'I hope Michael's okay…' Chinchilmon thought, quickly running to catch up with the longer-legged boy.

"See guys? It's an abandoned mobile home!" Tiffany smiled at her discovery. "That's right." Azuremon jumped on top of the house, seemingly investigating the building's structure. "We should be able to stay in here for the night then, and then continue on in the morning." Jacob smiled and opened the door to the house, but was held back by Michael. "Are you crazy? We don't know what could be in there. We shouldn't go in there without knowing what's in there first." Michael released Jacob's wrist, but the aggressive boy pushed back. "Why don't you stay out of this? I'm going to go in and check it out right now, so how about you just chill out?" Michael landed on his back on the ground. "Ouch. Alright then, Mr. Leader, you do what you need to do to get yourself murdered." Michael stood up, brushed himself off, and walked a bit away.

"Excuse me?" Jacob poked his head out of the mobile home and walked over to Michael. "Boys, the last thing we need right now is a fight." Ally pleaded with Jacob. "Of course you would say that, you two are close as thieves." Jacob sniped at her, and she fell back. "Hey, what was that all about? She's done nothing to you." Michael got right in Jacob's face. "Get out of my face." Jacob hissed, and Michael's eyes narrowed. "Apologize to her." He got out of Jacob's face, but wasn't moving another inch.

THUNK!

Michael landed back on his back, holding a hand up to his cheek where Jacob had punched him. "Oh, now you asked for it." He stood up and readied himself. "Michael, no, you know he didn't mean it!" Ally got in front of the two boys who were about ready to get seriously physical. "Alright now you two, break it up. Don't be reckless when we don't even have any real food or medical supplies." Luke pulled Jacob away from Michael while Linzi strode over and grabbed Michael's shoulder while Ally grabbed his other arm. "He's lucky that I've got restraint." Michael growled and shook off the two girls, storming off into jungle. "Ooooh, I better go after him." Chinchilmon ran off after Michael.

Ally shared a glanced with Linzi. "I need to talk to you in a bit." The exchange didn't go unnoticed by Tiffany, who stood behind Azuremon who was still uneasy after the fight. "Azuremon, did you catch what Ally said to Linzi?" She whispered to the digimon. "No, I didn't. Is it bad?" He whispered back, and Tiffany shook her head. Luke pulled Jacob into the mobile home and sat him on the bed. "What the hell was that all about?" Jacob asked, angrily. "You are an idiot." Luke's strength kept Jacob sitting as he tried to stand up. "You don't get to stand up until you calm down. He was being a reasonable person until you insulted Ally." Jacob scoffed. "I am calm. It's Michael that's flying off the handle. Did you see how he ran off?" "I don't buy it. You literally punched him in the face, insulted a person who was clearly a very close friend of his, and then expect nothing to happen in return. You're really lucky that we were there to stop him." Luke let go of Jacob and returned to the outside, shutting the door to the mobile home with a clunk.

Tiffany slowly snuck towards Linzi and Ally, who were crouching behind a few bushes talking in hushed voices, escaping her partner, who was currently sparring with Luke and helping him prepare some food from the supplies that Linzi had in her backpack. "Okay, you deserve to know why Michael acted like he did towards Jacob." 'Yes, I made it just in time!' Tiffany rejoiced and hid behind another bush, hoping the girls wouldn't notice her. "Alright, what happened? That was really serious too." Linzi sat down and checked around for anybody watching. "Nobody's watching, we're good to go."

"Why is there an old guitar just in the middle of a jungle? It doesn't look too much different than my old one at the house." Michael picked it up and strummed it. "It's not that bad either." He began strumming a few chords and humming along. "Let's see how much of this I still know…" He sat down on a small chopped down tree trunk and began strumming a mournful sound.

"Did I say something stupid…. There goes one more mistake… Do I bore you with my problems? Is that why you turn away? Do you know how hard I've tried to become what you want me to be…" Michael's voice floated out from the trees, letting Chinchilmon know where he was. 'I'm not going to reveal myself just yet. I want to hear how this goes.' The chinchilla-like digimon thought to himself.

"Take me… This is all that I've got… This is all that I'm not, all that I'll ever be… I've got flaws; I've got faults, keep searching for your perfect hearts… It doesn't matter who you are, we all have our scars… We all have out scars…." Chinchilmon sniffled a bit, and heard Michael sniffled just a bit as well. 'My partner….'

"Come on, just let it go… These are things that you can't control, your expectations, your explanations don't make sense to me… You and your alternatives, don't send me your therapist! Deep down, I know what you mean, and I'm not sure that's what I want to be! Ooooooooooh, ooooooooooh, ooooooooh, ooooooooooh…" Michael ended the song in a small, mournful, quiet chord that in itself sounded like a world collapsing as the boy began crying.

Chinchilmon ran out to Michael and jumped into his lap, giving him a massive hug. "Chinchilmon? How long have you been here?" "The entire time…" Chinchilmon sniffled and wrapped his two tails against his partner's head, wiping off his tears. "Thanks buddy…" Michael returned the hug that the digimon gave him. "What was that about?" Chinchilmon asked, and Michael stuttered a bit. "Um, well, you see, it was a thing that happened and-" Chinchilmon cut him off. "Start from the beginning." He settled down on Michael's lap, and listened as Michael began talking.

"When Michael was really young, his family was pretty happy, all living together." Ally began talking and Linzi and Tiffany leaned in. "I guess you could say that he had a normal life from a young age." She added. "His parents were happy, his extended family was living, and he ate well, acted well, all of that good stuff." "Yeah?" Linzi asked. "Well, when Michael was 9, he was diagnosed with Anorexia, and was fighting it well up until age 12 with his dad's support. However, when he was 12, his dad was murdered by his mom, except they couldn't prove her guilt, and he ended up going to court because his mom's lawyers put the charges on him, instead." Linzi gasped, and Tiffany frowned, tears beginning to form in her eyes.

"I ended up being put in juvy for a few months while the trial was going on, because my mom refused to take care of me." Michael sighed, and got on the ground, moving Chinchilmon so where the digimon was still sitting in his lap, with the guitar on the stump. "Juvy is the kid version of prison, basically." He clarified, guessing that Chinchilmon didn't know what it was due to his confused expression. "Oh…" Chinchilmon looked down, and gave Michael another hug. "Juvy is a scary place man. I knew that I didn't belong there, and the other kids made sure that I knew it. My anorexia kicked in hardcore during that time, and I lost probably 20 pounds in the two months that I was in there, and I only weighed about 80 pounds at the time. That didn't even count the number of times they beat me. You grow up quickly in juvy, and you learn to survive, because if you don't, they'll kill you, or get very close to it."

"Anyways, he was acquitted because they had next to no evidence, but things were the never the same again at his house." Ally frowned and patted Linzi's hand, which was trembling on the ground. "His mom turned to alcoholism and began beating him more often, withholding food if he wasn't back by a certain time and refusing to drive him anywhere." "He was only 12, right?" Tears were welling in Linzi's eyes as she spoke. "At this point, he was 13." From behind the bushes, Tiffany's fist clenched as she vowed to get revenged on the woman who hurt Michael so badly. "Eventually, after about two years of this existence, his mom left him in the house and called the child welfare officers, intending for them to take him to a foster home."

"I swore to myself that I would never step foot in a foster home, so I had to act quickly. I gathered up anything that would help me survive on my own, and when the officers came, they were so stupid that I easily got passed them." Chinchilmon cheered on the inside. "How long were you like that, running on the streets?" He asked, wondering where Ally came into the equation. "It was about two weeks before I tried to steal some food from Tiffany and it was only one week after the escape that I found Ally. She wasn't very good at surviving on her own, so she stuck with me after I rescued her from the police." Michael explained, standing up. "And here I am now, I guess." He said, spinning around in a circle. Chinchilmon jumped up onto his shoulder and nuzzled his partner. "You've been through so much…. If I ever so much as see those people, I'll digivolve and protect you from them, I promise." "Thanks buddy." Michael hugged his partner digimon.

"Oh my gosh… That's so sad…" Linzi frowned after Ally finished telling the tale. "It's really a travesty, and he's gone through so much…" Ally agreed. Tiffany nodded and accidentally brushed her hair against the bushes, making a rustling noise. "What was that?" Ally's ears perked up, and Linzi began looking around. "Eep!" Tiffany made a small noise as Linzi stepped right over her hidden position. "Tiffany? Was that you?" Ally asked. "Yeah…" She sat up as Linzi glanced at Ally, and then back at Tiffany. "Did you hear all of that?" Linzi asked. "Yeah, I did." Tiffany frowned. "The poor thing has had a very tough life…" Ally nodded and smacked Tiffany on the back of her head. "I guess I deserved that, considering that I did just eavesdrop on you guys pretty flawlessly until the end." Tiffany conceded.

The three heard a soft buzzing noise floating above their heads, and expecting to see a digimon, were surprised when they saw a dark strip, very similar to the one that had been on the Korokomon that Luke and Toucamon had defeated. "Look! It's one of those dark strip things!" Linzi pointed out, and the three ducked as it flew over their heads. "We've better get out of here now, before things get dicey!" Ally yelled as the trio began to run to their digimon.

However, the girls were too late, as they were ambushed by the digimon turned evil by the dark strip. "My name is Jegamon! You have been ordered to die by the Master, and I will do anything for the master!" The humanoid digimon that dropped out of the trees was fully made of rock and covered in moss and carried a gigantic club. "HIYAAAAAAAAA!" Jegamon's gigantic club came swinging down right on the spot where Linzi had been about two seconds earlier. She dodged the attack due to the slow movement of the Jegamon. "AZUREMON!" Tiffany screamed, and the digimon jumped out of the nearby woods. "I heard the call of the Jegamon and came as quickly as I could. Kangamon and Torpedomon will be here as soon as they can as well."

"I have never been more overjoyed to see you in my life." Tiffany told the bipedal digimon after they dodged another club smash. "WHY CAN'T YOU STAND STILL? SHATTER ROCK!" Jegamon grabbed the earth and pulled up a large boulder and threw it at the three girls. "Powerful Kick!" Kangamon came bouncing into the fray and used its attack to throw the boulder off course. "There we go!" She turned around and hopped over to Ally. "Are you hurt?" "No, I'm fine, but only because of you!" Ally hugged the digimon.

"SEE HOW YOU LIKE THIS! CLUB SWING!" Jegamon smashed his club into the boulder, shattering it into thousands of tiny pieces, which flew into the girls and their digimon. "How about you take on someone your own size!" Azuremon jumped onto a tree and onto the Jegamon's back to distract it from the girls, who were trying to find cover from the rocks. "TRIAN BEAM!" The force of the beam from Azuremon forced Jegamon to fall forward, knocking Azuremon off of him, but keeping him down for the precious seconds needed to get the girls to safety.

"HORN BLASTER!" Torpedomon came into view and fired off her horn that landed a direct hit on Jegamon. "It's not doing anything! Our attacks aren't strong enough as rookies!" Kangamon cried out as Jegamon got back up again. "Torpedomon! Can you digivolve?" Linzi asked her partner. "Not yet! I still don't have enough energy! I need food, badly…" The digimon collapsed on the ground while Azuremon distracted Jegamon enough for Torpedomon to be moved over to the girls. "Oh, you poor thing, you…" Linzi frowned as she watched Torpedomon try to get up. "No, you need to rest, Torpedomon." Ally pushed her back down to get her to rest. "Fine…" She pouted and lied down.

"CHINCHILMON! WE'VE GOT TO HURRY!" Michael and Chinchilmon were running as fast as they could through the jungle. "THE GIRLS NEED OUR HELP!" Chinchilmon cried back, jumping through the trees as fast as possible. "WHERE ARE THEY?" Michael asked the faster digimon. "IT'S NOT TOO MUCH FARTHER, BUT WE'VE GOT TO HURRY!" Chinchilmon answered the question and went back to jumping from tree to tree.

"Ravenmon, let's go! The girls need our help!" Luke prepared to run off into the forest. "Well, Jacob? Are you coming? They need our help." Luke and Ravenmon ran into the forest while Jacob sat on the ground, Caninmon gently nudging him. "Come on Jacob, we've got to go help them! Yeah, I get that you might find them annoying, but they're your best shot at survival in this world. You've got to help them! You can settle your differences later, and right now, survival is the most important thing." Jacob slowly began to stand up. "You're right. Yeah, we've got our differences, but we can come together to help each other. That's what friends are for, as strange of a group that we are." He completely stood up and he followed Luke into the jungle as Caninmon followed him.

"I really hope that help is on the way…" Tiffany watched Azuremon face off again Jegamon by himself, only surviving because of his superior agility. "BE CAREFUL AZUREMON!" She cried out as he was almost hit. "Get out of there Kangamon!" Ally cried to Kangamon tried to knock Jegamon down again by kicking it in the head, but was promptly thrown to the ground by the force of Jegamon's swings. "Oh dear… This isn't good at all…" Linzi glanced up and saw Azuremon being thrown into a tree. "AZUREMON!" Tiffany cried out and ran out from their hiding place to check on her digimon. "THERE SHE IS!" Jegamon cried out and began another attack.

"Not so fast!" Luke ran out of the woods with Ravenmon. "FIRE SPRAY!" The attack, while not very damaging, startled Jegamon enough to miss the attack entirely, allowing Tiffany and Azuremon to get back to the safe spot. "Whew! That was too close! Ally breathed a sigh of relief and watched as Ravenmon infuriated Jegamon by dodging its attacks to no end. "There you go Ravenmon!" Linzi cheered.

"Caninmon! Now!" Jacob revealed himself in the trees, drawing Jegamon's attention to him for a split second before Caninmon attacked him. "HYPER BLAST!" The blast of electricity stunned Jegamon, allowing Ravenmon to get another attack in. "FIRE SPRAY!" The second attack only served to agitate Jegamon even more. "He just won't go down!" Luke yelled in frustration.

"ALRIGHT! CHINCHILMON, GO!" Michael burst through the trees and threw Chinchilmon at the Jegamon. "HIYA!" Chinchilmon landed on the digimon and proceeded to attack it. "TAIL SPIN!" Chinchilmon's attack struck Jegamon dead on, knocking it over. Chinchilmon quickly scampered back over to Michael. "Good job buddy!" He ruffled his partner's head. "Thanks!" "Hey guys? Don't count him out quite yet! He's got a dark strip on him somewhere!" Linzi yelled at the duo as Jegamon stood back up and turned to Michael and Chinchilmon.

"GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH! SHATTER ROCK!" Jegamon threw another rock at the two. "MOVE!" Michael yelled as the two dodged in separate directions. "Where is the dark strip?" Michael asked the girls. "We don't know!" Ally yelled back. "I think it's somewhere on its back!" Tiffany answered for the girls. "Well, here goes nothing!" Michael told himself. Jegamon turned his attention to Chinchilmon, who was distracting Jegamon. While Jegamon was turned around, Michael began running towards the digimon.

"MICHAEL, NO!" Ally screamed when she saw what he was doing. Jegamon slowly turned around to see the source of the weight on his back, but seeing nothing, turned back to Chinchilmon. 'This is harder than it looks…' Michael thought to himself while he was climbing up Jegamon's back, despite Ally's scream. "Found it! Chinchilmon, the dark strip is on top of its head!" Michael yelled and began to distract the Jegamon. "RIDIN' COWBOY!" Jegamon noticed that there was something on its head, and quickly shook Michael off.

"OOF!" He landed hard on his side and heard a small pop. "GAH!" He yelled in pain as he slowed to a stop. "YOU ARE DEAAAAAD!" Jegamon turned to Michael and began bringing the club down as Michael prepared for the immense pain that it would bring. "I can't look…" Linzi looked away as Ravenmon and Caninmon tried to distract Jegamon, but to no avail. He was focused only on Michael. "Oh no!" Luke and Jacob watched in horror as the club slowly descended on the trapped Michael. "Wait! Look at his wrist!" Tiffany pointed out the bright glowing from his digivice. "Look at Chinchilmon as well!" Azuremon noticed that Michael's partner was glowing as well.

"CHINCHILMON!" The digimon's two tails split into four, and then again into eight, all taking on a cream color. Chinchilmon dropped to all fours, his legs growing longer and stronger, and becoming brown colored, mimicking his face, which also grew a snout and a sharper color of blue for eyes. "DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" A small energy ball floated above the center of his back before it duplicated into six that surrounded his midsection. "TRILEPTIMON!" Trileptimon dropped onto the ground and dashed over to Michael.

"ASTIRE SLASH!" The six energy balls floating around his midsection flew up and began flying at Jegamon. Two of the balls of energy knocked Jegamon to the ground, while two others knocked the club out of his hands, saving Michael and sending the club deep into the woods. "MY CLUUUUUUUB! YOU'LL PAY FOR THIS!" Jegamon tried to stand up again, but was stopped by the final two balls of energy landed directly on top of his head. "GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" The dark strip came flying off and was destroyed.

"Again, I am really, truly sorry for this. It was not my intention of hurting you. Is there any way that I can be of use to you?" Jegamon frowned and beckoned to Michael's arm, and then to the jungle. "Can you direct us back to the mobile home that we set up camp in?" Ally asked. "Why yes, of course! All you have to do is head back that way for a little ways, and the mobile home will be right there. Goodbye now!" Jegamon walked off slowly into the jungle in search of his club. Trileptimon shined a bright yellow color and dedigivolved into Chinchilmon again.

"Oh my gosh, Chinchilmon, that was absolutely amazing! Thank you for saving my life…" Michael gave the rookie digimon a major hug and picked him up. "I'm so tired now…" Chinchilmon yawned and promptly fell asleep in Michael's arms. "Aww, he's so cute!" Linzi chimed in. Luke, Ravenmon, and Caninmon laughed and quickly started back to camp, while Jacob stayed behind.

"Hey Michael, I'd like to apologize for how I acted earlier. It was completely stupid and irresponsible of me to not even realize that what you said had a genuine point, and I hope that you can forgive me." He looked down at the ground while Tiffany, Linzi, Ally, and their digimon partners started on the trek. "Hey, don't worry about it. There's been worse in this life, and now we know that we can get at each other pretty well." Michael smiled and patted Jacob on the back. "Awesome, now let's hurry back to camp to get some food finally! It's been forever since I've eaten!" Jacob ran on back, with Michael following just farther behind due to Chinchilmon's added weight.

When the two arrived back at camp, they saw the camp was bustling with activity as Linzi and Tiffany cooked dinner, which was benefitted by some fish that Torpedomon caught at a local pond. Ally was working on cleaning out the mobile home for sleeping that night, while Luke was tending to the hurt digimon. Michael gently lied Chinchilmon down next to Luke, entrusting Chinchilmon in his care while he helped Ally clean the mobile home. Jacob sat down on the other side of Luke and began helping treat the digimon. "You know what Luke, you were right. Some arguments are really stupid, and some just don't make any sense. I appreciate that you talked me out of being even more stupid, because I don't know how much longer they would've made it had it not have been for our arrival." Jacob smiled. "Hey, don't worry about it. That's what friends are for, right?" Luke asked. "Right!" The two laughed and took care of the digimon before eating. After their dinner, everyone agreed that they needed to set up a watch for the camp. Michael and Jacob teamed up to take the first watch, while Linzi and Tiffany took the second watch. "Alrighty everyone, goodnight!" Michael called out over the camp as the four that were going to sleep went into the mobile home and Jacob and Michael took up their positions for the first shift.


	4. Nohemon's Trickery!

Disclaimer! I own only my OCs and potentially a few of the OC digimon. Everything else is owned by Saban Brands.

Hope you all enjoy!

Chapter 4

The two boys were only a little ways into their watch when Michael got up. "I gotta use the bathroom. I'll be right back." He walked off into the bushes while Caninmon and Jacob sat around the fire, watching the flames crackle and jump from ember to ember. "Caninmon?" Jacob asked, breaking the quiet silence. "Yeah Jacob?" The digimon looked up the boy from where Caninmon was laying down. "What do you think our chances of survival are?" Jacob frowned. "Well, if we stay together as a group, then we've probably got a really good chance. If we split up though, we'll be picked off one by one." Caninmon decided to be completely realistic. "Oh… So I've got to be more cooperative and less argumentative." Jacob smiled and petted the digimon. "That's right! I know you can do it!" Caninmon barked quietly, so as to not wake the sleeping digimon and humans in the mobile home.

"Okay, let's be real quick about this." Michael went a short way into the jungle and quickly did his business. "Alright, now this way back." He started moving quickly back, but tripped on a gnarled root. "GAH!" Michael yelled as he landed on the wrist that he had landed on when Jegamon had thrown him off of his back. He stood up slowly, seeing stars from the pain currently flashing through his wrist. "Ooookay, note to self, this is probably broken." Michael slowly made his way back to camp cradling the wrist and keeping it as stable as he could. "Watch out for that root, and that tree limb, and that rock." He muttered to himself as he made his way back to the fire.

"Hey Michael, what's wrong with your wrist?" Jacob asked the boy as he came into the light of the fire, clearly in pain. "Oh nothing, it's perfectly fine." Michael lied, sitting down and putting his wrist onto the ground, hissing in pain. "That's not true, and you known it." Jacob tried to look at Michael's wrist, but Michael pulled away and moved to the other side of the fire. "Don't be silly Michael." Jacob chided and Caninmon went into the mobile home to get their resident medic, Luke.

"Hey, Luke. Michael hurt his wrist pretty badly in the fight with Jegamon and he's not letting Jacob look at it." Caninmon nudged Luke awake and the boy stirred awake with a small sigh. "Do you want me to look at it?" He asked sleepily. "Yeah, it sounds pretty bad." Caninmon quietly whispered so as to not wake the others. "Alrighty. I'll take a look." Luke slowly got up and pulled on his shoes. He quietly tiptoed out of the mobile home and went over to the fire, where Jacob and Michael were sitting. "Here Michael, let me look at your wrist." Michael sighed and frowned. "Do I have to? I can manage just fine without a functioning wrist, you know." He reluctantly gave held up his wrist of Luke to see.

"Oh yeah, that looks pretty bad." Luke frowned when he saw the wrist. "It does?" Jacob sat down next to Luke and looked at Michael's wrist. "Yeah, see that part? It's supposed to be more like this." Luke touched Michael's wrist and squeezed a bit, getting a pained grunt out of Michael. "Yeah, it looks to be a fracture of some severity. We're going to need a cast for this, or at least something to wrap it up so that it will heal properly. Can you get my first aid kit?" He asked Jacob, who went and did so in the mobile home. "Michael, when were you gonna tell me about this?" Luke glanced up at the younger boy. "Well, eventually, when it wasn't so bad, or healed, at least." Michael laughed nervously. "Be glad that Jacob caught it before that, because it could've healed badly and then you would've been left with a useless hand and wrist, which is not something you want." Luke chided him quietly.

"Yeah, I know…" Michael sighed as Jacob came back with the first aid kit. Luke pulled out the wraps. "Michael, this is going to hurt a bit, so get ready." Luke began to wrap the wrist as Michael let out a little whimper of pain. "Hang in there, the first rotation is almost done." Luke tried to calm him down as he continued the wrapping. "Okay, this is really not okay, I'm fine, I assure you." Michael began babbling. "Oh stop. You're not fine." Jacob stopped the babbling. "Almost there, see?" Luke held up the small amount of wrap left. "Okay, this is much worse than I thought it would be." Michael muttered through clenched teeth. "There, all done." Luke let go of Michael's wrist. "Ouch… No way for that to be more gentle?" Michael asked, eyeing the first aid kit cautiously. "Not really. You hurt your wrist pretty badly." Luke frowned. "Now, go get some sleep with Chinchilmon and send Ravenmon out here. I'll finish up your watch while you get some sleep." Michael smiled and climbed into the mobile home, where Chinchilmon was sleeping.

Ravenmon came out quickly and floated to the ground. "How long is the shift?" He asked, clearly very tired. "Not too much longer. Just until Linzi and Tiffany come out here." Jacob answered as they settled down to finish their watch. Linzi and Tiffany came out soon after that, stretching and yawning. "You guys go get some sleep. It's our turn now." Torpedomon cuddled up to Linzi while Tiffany and Azuremon stayed standing, watching the jungle on all sides. "Azuremon, do you think we're going to see anything?" Tiffany asked, watching the bipedal digimon. "Not necessarily. Late at night, digimon don't like to come out and attack unless it's been possessed or something." Azuremon reassured her. Tiffany smiled and settled down as well to wait out the rest of the watch.

In the morning

"Alright guys! Time to wake up for another day!" Tiffany burst open into the mobile home and opened the curtains. "Wha?" Michael sat up abruptly, confused by the light. "Do we have to?" Jacob groaned and slowly got up. "Yes, you do. We've got to get out of here sometime." Ally got out of her nest of blankets and stretched. "Come on Luke, wake up." Kangamon bounced over to the sleeping boy and bounced on his stomach. "ACK!" Ravenmon was up first, looking very confused. Luke soon woke up after Ravenmon and muffled something incoherently. "What was that, Luke?" Tiffany smiled as she pulled his blanket off of him. "Nothing…" Luke grabbed the blanket and wrapped it around him, pulling on his shoes as well. He was the last one out of the cabin, as the rest all smelled the food roasting on the fire that was being tended to by Linzi.

"That worked spectacularly Tiffany!" Linzi smiled and laughed as she saw the still sleepy group gravitate towards the food. "We've got to ration now, but with the digimon's help, we can forage and catch fish, so we won't run out of food." Tiffany explained. "Our digimon should get the majority of the food though, so they don't run out of energy." Michael noted, still cradling his wrist. "Definitely. They need the food to protect us." Jacob agreed. "Right! Chow down everyone!" Ally cried out, holding out the cooked fish that Torpedomon and Azuremon had caught. "It's delicious!" Luke smiled. "Thanks you guys." He thanked the digimon and their partners who had cooked it.

After Breakfast

"Alright, I guess we've got to keep moving now, to see if there's anything else here, or any other people." Jacob stood up, looking longingly at the mobile home. "Exactly. We can't stay here for too long otherwise we'll be attacked again, and I really don't want that to happen." Linzi frowned and looked around, expecting to see another digimon. "I feel uneasy here. We should go now." Azuremon sighed and began walking in a direction that led out of the forest. "Wait for me, Azuremon!" Tiffany yelled and ran to catch up with him as the rest followed behind.

"It sure is thinning out pretty quickly." Ally smiled as they began walking out of the gigantic jungle. "Sheesh! I'm so glad to be out of that awful jungle." Kangamon laughed and kept hopping on. "That's right. It was so warm in there!" Linzi ran ahead of the group a little bit and stopped in her tracks. "I've got some bad news guys…" Linzi turned around and started laughing. "It's not a desert, is it?" Michael asked and Linzi started laughing harder. "It is, isn't it?" Luke frowned. "It is a desert." Linzi stopped laughing and looked at the others. "Isn't this wonderful! Now we've got a small desert to cross instead of a massive jungle!" Ally tried to look at the bright side. "She has a point, you know. It could always be worse." Jacob tried to calm the group down. "We could always be going through an ocean. Only Torpedomon could help us then." Chinchilmon piped up.

"At least it's only a small desert too, like Ally said." Torpedomon chimed in, even though she was not happy about going through another hot place. "That's right. We've got to look on the positive side of things." Ravenmon cawed and floated on top of Luke's head. "Well, let's get going then!" Tiffany cheered and the group began their trek through the small desert.

A few hours later

"This desert… Is a lot larger… than I thought it was…" Ally panted and fell on her knees. "It's like it keeps growing the farther we go!" Caninmon panted and collapsed as well. "There's got to be a quicker and better way across the desert." Tiffany began looking around them for anything that was different in the surroundings. "It does not feel right. There's got to be something somewhere that is causing it to grow." Azuremon growled and knelt to the ground, trying to feel the sand. "Do you feel anything Azuremon?" Jacob asked the digimon. "Something is not right in this desert, and the only way that we shall get out of it is if we find the source of this growth." Chinchilmon frowned. "We must keep split up to find it, because we won't find anything together." Azuremon stood up and looked at the group.

"Oh… I really don't like the idea of splitting up, but if you say so." Linzi looked nervous. "Don't worry about it! I'll protect you." Torpedomon smiled up at Linzi. "That's right! We'll be sure to protect you if we have to." Caninmon nuzzled Jacob's hand. "I sure am glad to have met you guys. We'll be safe as long as we've got you." Ally laughed and hugged Kangamon. "Yeah!" Tiffany began to walk off, taking Azuremon, Michael, and Chinchilmon with her. "We'll go the east, guys!" "Alright, then Linzi and I will go north with our digimon!" Jacob smiled and the two headed north. "Alright then, I guess I'll go to the south then, and Luke, you go to the west!" Ally smiled and started walking off with Kangamon while Luke went to the west with Ravenmon. "We'll be sure to find something if we go this way!" Luke laughed as Ravenmon hopped on his head.

Tiffany and Michael had been walking for a while before Michael began to speak. "Did Ally tell you-" "Yeah, she did." Tiffany gave Michael a hug. "Thank you…" Michael returned the hug, wiping away a small tear. "I know it's tough, but I believe we can get through this together." Tiffany released the hug and smiled at Michael, who smiled back. "We'll always be here for you." Chinchilmon hopped on Michael's shoulder and whispered something in his ear, causing him to blush. "What was that, Chinchilmon?" Azuremon leaned in to the digimon. "Oh, nothing at all!" Chinchilmon laughed and began running away from Azuremon. "Don't go too far you guys!"

"Do you think we'll find anything?" Jacob asked Linzi. "I sure hope so. I don't fancy having to be stuck in this desert forever." She replied. "Why do deserts have to be so hot, Caninmon?" Torpedomon panted some more. "I know Torpedomon, but we can't give up. We've got to keep them safe!" Caninmon tried to boost her confidence and attitude. "That's right Torpedomon. We can't give up!" Linzi gave her partner a hug. "I know it! We'll always make it through whatever we go through because we're in this together." Torpedomon smiled and kept walking with her head up.

"Ravenmon, can you see anything?" Luke asked his partner digimon who was flying high above. "Not easily! It's just sand, sand, and more sand!" Ravenmon called down and Luke growled in frustration. "Calm down Luke. I'm sure we'll find something eventually." Ravenmon flew down and nuzzled his agitated partner. "You're right. I do need to calm down before I accidentally turn the sand into glass or something." Luke chuckled. "It's not a bad thing to be anxious, but it's bad to be so anxious that you lash out." Ravenmon noted, and Luke nodded. "I'll stick to being the overly cautious one, so how about that?" "That'll work with me!" Ravenmon cawed and flew back up to look some more.

"Hey Ally, how far do you think this desert goes?" Kangamon asked the girl. "I have no clue Kangamon, but I sure hope it's not for too much longer!" She replied, trying to be cheerful. "Oh dear, Kangamon, I'm so tired…" She fell to the ground again. "Come on Ally, we can't give up now! The others are counting on us to help find the solution!" Kangamon propped Ally up and helped her stand up. "We'll go slow, so you can get a bit of rest." Kangamon conceded, seeing how tired Ally was. "You didn't get much sleep last night, did you?" She asked. "No, not that much. I couldn't sleep in such a tight, enclosed space." Ally frowned. "Hm… Maybe it would be good to take a bit of a break." Kangamon frowned and helped Ally sit down. "Take a breather for a second."

"How are the others doing, I wonder." Michael looked around to see if he could find the others in the desert sky. "We're so far away at this point, I don't think they could find us if we wanted to." "I've got agree with you on that one." Chinchilmon spoke up. "When we find the solution to this desert, we'll make our way back." Azuremon stated, and Tiffany nodded. "At least we're not being chased by an angry digimon!" She announced cheerfully, and Michael's face dropped. "You just jinxed us." He facepalmed, and looked to Chinchilmon for support. "Jinxed? What's that?" The digimon just looked at Michael, confused. "Oh, don't worry about it." Michael muttered and kept walking while Tiffany collapsed in peals of laughter. Azuremon and Chinchilmon shared a look. "Humans sure are strange." Chinchilmon giggled. "You can say that again." Azuremon kept walking onwards.

Jacob stood up straight and looked behind him. "Linzi, I'm not seeing anyone behind us. Did they all split up and go different directions?" "That would be my guess. That would mean that two of them would be going by themselves." She pointed out. "That's not the best strategy in the digital world." Torpedomon frowned. "It's a kill or be killed world." Caninmon explained. "I guess so…" Linzi trailed off and looked worried. "Hey, don't worry! They've all got their digimon partners to help them sort out any issues." Jacob put his hand on her shoulder and tried to give her confidence. "Thanks Jacob. That's right." She smiled as well as they continued walking.

"Hey Kangamon, are you hearing anything?" Ally stopped in her tracks and tilted her head. "No, why? Are you hearing something?" She responded, attempting to listen as well. "Oh yes, you hear me, don't you?" A mysterious voice whispered into Ally's ear. "Yes, I do hear you. What do you want from me?" Ally asked out loud, looking around. "Ally, what is it?" Kangamon asked, very concerned. "Kangamon, something tells me that we're not alone anymore… Something is controlling the very sight we see right now." Ally kept looking around and took a practice swing with her fist to test the air.

"Now now, we can't have that, can we? Fighting is completely unnecessary. You must only do as I say, okay? And then everything will be alright!" The voice continued, talking quiet enough so that Kangamon didn't hear it. "Ally, are you okay?" Kangamon looked concerned at Ally and nuzzled her leg. "Yes, I'm fine Kangamon, but I know that I'm hearing something…" Ally's eyes widened as she heard another phrase. "Yes, you like my illusions? I'm glad… They took me so long to make so I might as well use them on you!" The voice grew to a quiet talking voice. "Yes, I hear it now." Kangamon announced what the noise had made itself revealed.

"You don't really hear me though… I'm just an illusion of your mind, here to make you hear the basic truths!" The voice continued, mockingly laughing. "I am not a fan of this digimon. He seems to be a bit of a self-centered and cocky digimon, two things that I absolutely hate." Kangamon barked out and threw a testing punch to see if there was anything near the group. "Wait a minute… There are very few digimon that can mess with illusions…" Kangamon began to think as she watched Ally clutch her ears. "I don't want to hear this anymore!" Ally yelled.

'Wait! That's it!' Kangamon realized what digimon it was and a deep dread filled her. "Ally, when I tell you to run, that's the time you need to run." "Um, okay Kangamon." Ally replied, very confused. "So, evil digimon. There are very few digimon who would actually chase us, but this one is just whispering in her ear?" Kangamon was quietly muttering to herself. "Um… Kangamon, he says that he's been watching all of our friends for a long time now, especially in the desert." "Ally, run. Now." Kangamon took off at breakneck speed and Ally followed him. "Now now! Come back here! I didn't separate you so that you could run away!" The voice called out, following the girls.

"Did we lose him?" Ally asked Kangamon. "Nope!" The voice appeared right in her ear, causing her to scream and fall down. "Oh my! I love when they scream! It makes my job so much easier!" The voice kept mockingly laughing. "Okay, this thing's laugh is really starting to annoy me. Kangamon, is there anything you can do?" Ally asked Kangamon. "I don't know where it is, so I can't even attack it…" Kangamon looked at the ground, disappointed in herself. "That's right lovely girl, doubt yourself. We've got all day long!" The voice appeared again. "No, Kangamon, don't doubt yourself. If it weren't for you, we never would've been able to hold out that long against the Jegamon! You saved my life back there, there's no doubt about it." Ally gave Kangamon a hug.

"Haaaahaaaahaaaaa!" The voice chimed in again, laughing mockingly. "You! I know you…" Kangamon scowled. "Oh? Do you now?" The voice kept laughing. "Your laughter… There's only one digimon who has laughter like that!" Kangamon growled and began looking around. "Oh no! It seems that my cover has been blown!" The voice shrieked and disappeared for a second. "Kangamon, what is that?" Ally asked the rookie-level digimon. "It has to be…" Kangamon was cut off by the appearance of a scarecrow-looking digimon with a raven holding onto its hand. "That's what I thought! It's Nohemon!" Kangamon yelled and assumed a battle pose.

"Ohohoh! You caught me, what a clever little digimon!" Nohemon adjusted himself. "My name is Nohemon! My Derision Crow attack will leave you just begging for a bit of a reprieve!" He announced and charged at the duo. "He's a champion level digimon, and is probably the cause of why this desert seemed like it would go on forever!" Kangamon jumped out of the way, dragging Ally with her. "By the way, I really appreciate you bringing the digidestined with you; it saves me the trouble of having to find her later." Nohemon mockingly laughed once again. "Digidestined? What is that?" Ally asked, seeming quite confused. "Well, I'll just figure it out later. Now, quit your laughing and get with the program!" She yelled, quite angry with Nohemon. "Well, if you insist! WILLIAM'S ARROW!" Nohemon pulled out a bow and shot a powerful arrow at Ally. "Woah!"

"Hey, Ravenmon, are you hearing that?" Luke looked up from where he was sitting down. "You bet I do! It sounds like Ally and Kangamon!" Ravenmon and Luke began traveling in the direction that Kangamon and Ally were fighting Nohemon in. "We better hurry! She could be in serious danger!" They began running as fast as they could as the sounds of the battle became clearer. "That sounds like Nohemon!" Ravenmon gasped. "Who is Nohemon?" Luke asked, not recognizing the name. "Nohemon is a champion level digimon who has the power of illusions! He's got a nasty attack called Derision Crow that can debilitate his enemies by laughing cruelly at them and calling them all sorts of awful things!" Ravenmon increased his speed and Luke followed. "We've got to hurry!" He yelled as he passed sand dune after sand dune.

"Kangamon! Are you okay?" Ally ran over to her fallen digimon partner. "Ooof! That hurt a lot you overgrown toothpick!" Kangamon tried to get up, but fell back down. "Oh no! Are you okay?" Ally pulled Kangamon close to her. "I'll be fine in a little bit… I have no energy though…" Ally gasped and held Kangamon behind her as Nohemon approached. "Hehehe! I wish I could've had a little more fun with you and your little partner there, but I've got bigger fish to fry, such as your companions!" Nohemon cackled. "WILLIAM'S ARROW!" He drew back his bow again and prepared to fire.

"NO! LOOK!" Luke cried out as he crossed the final sand dune and saw Nohemon standing over Ally who was protecting Kangamon. "RAVENMON! YOU'VE GOT TO DO SOMETHING!" He yelled. "ON IT, BOSS!" Ravenmon flew towards Nohemon, intent on protecting Ally and Kangamon. "FIRE SPRAY!" Ravenmon cried and landed a direct hit on Nohemon. "OOOOOUCH! WATCH WHERE YOU AIM THAT THING!" Nohemon cried out and turned his attention to Ravenmon. "WILLIAM'S ARROW!" "Woah! Ya missed me!" Ravenmon taunted the digimon, giving Kangamon and Ally enough time to get away from him.

Ally gasped. "LUKE! THERE'S A DARK STRIP ON THE RAVEN ON ITS SHOULDER!" She yelled to Luke, who was now directing Ravenmon in battle. "Got it! Ravenmon, you heard her!" "You betcha! FIRE SPRAY!" Ravenmon shot out flames at the raven itself. "HA! I'm not that dumb!" Nohemon ducked and began attacking again. "DERISION CROOOOOOOOW! HA HA HA!" The crow on the shoulder of Nohemon began laughing as the scarecrow began insulting the four. "DID YOU EVER THINK THAT YOU HAD A CHANCE AGAINST ME? Well, YOU THOUGHT WRONG!" Nohemon cackled and began firing arrows all around him.

Ally began crying as the laughing started. "Ugh, his laugh… It's so depressing…" Luke fell to his knees. "It reminds me of that time…" Ally began crying harder and put her face in her hands. "Ally…" Kangamon hopped over to the girl and gave her a hug. "Oh hey now, we can't have that!" Kangamon looked up and saw Nohemon standing over her. "Now, move so I can finally get rid of those pesky digidestined for the master!" He ordered. "NO! POWERFUL KICK!" Kangamon attacked Nohemon in a last ditch attempt. "HA!" The crow laughed one more time and caused Kangamon to collapse onto the ground. "Now, get out!" Nohemon grabbed Kangamon and threw her off to the side. "Now, little girl, are you ready to die?" "No…" Ally began sobbing hysterically. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLYYYYYYY!" Kangamon cried out.

"Wait, look Ravenmon!" Luke glanced up and saw Ally's digivice on her bag glowing, as well Kangamon glowing.

"KANGAMOOOOOOOOOOON!" The light from the digivice flowed into Kangamon, allowing her to digivolve. Kangamon's golden-brown skin began to grow a lighter color of brown fur. Her paws also grew opposable thumbs and a tree branch appeared, which she grabbed. Kangamon also grew to about 6 feet, tripling her previous height, and the rest of her body grew to meet that proportion. "DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Kangamon opened her eyes and growled, showing sharp fangs and bright purple eyes and that shined in the dark. "TUNIPYMOOOOOOOON!" Tunipymon jumped up and glared at Nohemon.

"Um, um, um… Good digimon?" Nohemon giggled nervously before turning and starting to run. "YOU GO TUNIPYMON!" Ally smiled at her digimon. "GRAAAAAAH! BRANCH CRUSH!" Tunipymon used her incredibly powerful legs to vault herself directly over Nohemon. "HIYA!" She brought the tree branch down on the raven on Nohemon's shoulder. "NOOOOOOOOOO!" The two cried out as they kept getting smashed on the head. "THIS! IS! FOR! ALLY!" Tunipymon growled once more. "GROUND PUMMELER!" Jumping up another time, Tunipymon landed on the raven again, but this time, she used her powerful legs to jump off of the digimon, burying it in the ground. The dark strip came flying off and was destroyed as well.

"Oh please! I'll teleport all of your friends out of this desert, I swear! Just don't hurt me, please!" Nohemon cowered under the intimidating stare of Tunipymon. "Good. Now, please." Ally ordered him. "Here you go! Illusion confusion!" Nohemon waved his puppet arms and the next thing that Ally saw was the rest of their group.

"Wait, weren't we just in the desert?" Michael frowned and touched the ground. "This is the forest that was just beyond the desert, though." Azuremon pointed out, and Tiffany nodded. "It was all because of Nohemon." Ally explained, catching Kangamon, who had just dedigivolved from Tunipymon. "He was under the control of a dark strip and controlling the illusion of the desert." Luke finished. "Well, I knew we'd figure it out!" Jacob smiled and clapped. "Plus, Kangamon digivolved too! That's great news!" Chinchilmon cheered.

"Alright, where are we going now?" Torpedomon asked the group. "I guess we better keep going through this forest and see if it's any safer than the jungle." Linzi started walking. "I guess we're following her then." Caninmon barked and the group started their trek into the forest.

"Hehehehehe…" An evil voice floated out across the desert. "They'll never know what hit them until it's too late!" The voice appeared next to Nohemon, scaring him. "Oh no, master, please forgive me! One of them digivolved and-" "Silence. I saw everything. You were too weak to stop them, so I must absorb your energy so I am strong enough." Nohemon panicked. "NO MASTER! I PROMISE THAT I CAN GET THEM NEXT TIME, I-" "Data stream." Nohemon quickly disappeared, destroyed and absorbed into the voice by the powerful attack. "Hahaha… HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! MARK MY WORDS DIGIDESTINED! I'LL KILL YOU ALL EVENTUALLY!" The voice evilly laughed and vanished from the world.


	5. The Island's Evil

Disclaimer! I own only my OCs and potentially a few of the OC digimon. Everything else is owned by Saban Brands.

Hope you all enjoy!

Short A/N: This chapter is going up earlier than planned as I'll be on vacation starting tomorrow to next Friday.

Chapter 5

"Hey guys! What's that up ahead?" Michael asked the group. "It looks like a gigantic mountain! Maybe there'll be a resort somewhere up there!" Linzi exclaimed, extremely excited by the thought of a warm bath. "I haven't had a bath in so long, I feel like a dried up mud ball." Caninmon giggled. "You smell like one too." Jacob chimed in and made Caninmon headbutt the boy. "We could all really use a good shower, or at least a soak in some hot springs, or something." Azuremon agreed.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's get going there!" Torpedomon started off again, dragging Kangamon with her. "Slow down, Torpedomon, I'm tired!" Kangamon protested. "Fine, I'll slow down a bit." Torpedomon let the rest of the group catch up with them. "We've still got to be cautious you guys. We don't know if there are any more digimon that have been inflicted with the dark strips by their master." Tiffany reinforced. "Yeah, but we all have our digimon! We can't lose!" Luke chimed in. "Be sensible. Even we can't defeat an ultimate level digimon on our own." Ravenmon landed on his head. "Well, we don't think we can, but we'll certainly try." Chinchilmon sprung up onto Michael's shoulder.

"That's the attitude. We can't lose faith in ourselves, especially not now, when we still have no idea who we're up against here." Linzi smiled and the group began walking again. "I've got to say though, that certainly looks like it's very far away." Ally piped up once they had been walking for a little bit. "Don't worry, Ally. We'll make it over there eventually, don't you worry a thing!" Tiffany hugged the youngest of the group and kept the group from falling behind the digimon. "We want to stay together. Tiffany's right." Azuremon made sure that the digimon stayed with their partners. "Otherwise, we might not be able to digimon and help protect them, right?" Caninmon asked. "Right on the nose." Torpedomon lightly tapped him on the head with her horn.

"Guys, I'm getting hungry…" Jacob's stomach growled. "Well, let's go a little farther, and then we can stop for lunch, okay?" Michael reasoned with him. "Actually Michael, if we stop now, the digimon can go forage for food in the forest! That way only the humans have to eat the food that they brought." Chinchilmon pointed out the forest near them. "That's right! Okay, it's decided. We'll stop here for some lunch and a rest and then we'll get going again." Luke took off the bag that he was carrying on his back.

Lunch was quickly set up, with the digimon bringing back plenty of fruit from the forest. "Awesome! This is delicious, Luke and Tiffany!" Linzi chowed down, as did Ally and Jacob. "This is really what I needed in my life today." Torpedomon smacked her lips as she began to eat the fruit the digimon had gathered. "Be sure to save some of it for me, Torpedomon." Ravenmon snatched a banana away while Chinchilmon grabbed another strange looking fruit. "Hey Michael, why aren't you eating?" Tiffany asked the boy. "Oh, it's nothing. I'm just not that hungry." Michael smiled at Tiffany and went back to helping Chinchilmon peel a banana, while stopping Kangamon from squishing a papaya.

Ally glanced at Michael and then mouthed to Tiffany. 'It's the anorexia thing again.' Tiffany caught on right away, and poked Michael. "Michael, you need to eat something. You haven't had anything all day." Luke pointed out, and Jacob handed him a piece of food from Luke's bag. "Eat, before you lose your strength and Chinchilmon can't digivolve to help you." Jacob ordered, and Michael obeyed, shrugging while he ate the piece of food. "And another." Ally gave him another piece of food, which he reluctantly ate. "You people sometimes." He sighed, shaking his head while the digimon looked on in confusion. "Azuremon, wouldn't you agree that he needs to eat more?" Tiffany asked her partner. "Yes, I would concur. He is much too skinny and much too light." "See? Azuremon agrees. You've got to eat more." Caninmon barked. "Fiiiiiiiiiine, I'll eat." Michael pouted, but accepted another piece from Luke.

Soon after that, lunch ended, and the digidestined began traveling again. "Say, Luke, do you remember how Nohemon called us the digidestined?" Ally asked. "Why yeah, I do. I remember being really confused." He replied. "What is a digidestined anyways?" Linzi asked. "We're not sure. All we know is that because of our digivices, Nohemon was able to tell that we are digidestined, so he targeted us to get rid of us." Ally explained. "Did he say anything about a master?" Tiffany asked. "Yeah, he said he had to kill us for his master." Linzi turned to Tiffany. "Didn't Jegamon say something about a master too?" She asked. "Yep, he did." Tiffany confirmed. "What kind of person or digimon would create the dark strips to turn a digimon evil?" Jacob asked. "I would assume a really, truly, evil digimon." Chinchilmon shuddered. "Just thinking of that blackness makes my skin crawl." Torpedomon growled and Ravenmon agreed with her. "Just thinking that he's still out there is really scary."

The group walked in silence for a little while, just trying to process that information. 'Is there… really that kind of evil creature out there?' Tiffany drew closer to Azuremon. 'I must protect Tiffany, at all costs.' He thought. 'Kangamon… I know she's strong enough to beat any evil digimon that there is.' Ally smiled down at her partner. 'Oh Ally; I really hope that I can protect you from an evil digimon like that.' Kangamon smiled back. 'This could be really bad for us. I must be ready at all times.' Caninmon straightened up and fell back to where Jacob was. 'I can't show that I'm scared for Caninmon's safety. I know that he'll be okay.' Caninmon's partner smiled and picked up the digimon.

'Chinchilmon will have to be careful, but I have faith in him. He's saved me once, and I know he's more than willing to do it again.' Michael scooped up Chinchilmon in his arms. 'Michael, do not worry. We'll get you home if it's the last thing I can do.' 'I do hope that Linzi does not freak out about this. We're going to need our wits about us if we're to untangle ourselves from this mess.' Torpedomon nuzzled Linzi's hand. 'Torpedomon, don't worry. I'll do my best to do whatever I can to help you with this evil digimon.' Linzi petted Torpedomon's head and glanced up at the sky. 'Ravenmon… You must be careful if you're going to beat an evil demon like that…' Luke thought, very worried about his digimon. 'Luke, I can, and I must protect you, no matter what. Don't worry friend, I've got your back, from now on and forever.' Ravenmon swore.

The group walked in silence until it was about the mid-afternoon. "It's starting to get late, you guys. Do you want to call it quits now or keep walking until we make it to the base of the mountain?" Jacob asked the group. "I say we take a break now, that way, if we get ambushed at the base of the mountain, we'll have plenty of energy in the morning." Michael piped up. "I'd rather keep walking, honestly. We're in the middle of nowhere right now, and we're viable to attack on any side." Jacob countered. "Here's the question though. Our digimon are exhausted right now, so do you want to be ambushed at the base of the mountain? If this digimon is smart at all, that's exactly what he would've done, to weaken us even more while we head up the mountain." Michael repeated his case. "Hmph. We could still get attacked right here in the open too." Jacob turned his back. "At least in the open, we have room to move and to run. Up against a mountain, we have only one direction, and that's up." Michael's voice grew icy.

"You two, we really don't need a fight now!" Tiffany chided the boys. "Tiffany, what do you think then?" Jacob asked her as Linzi and Ally threw her sympathetic looks. "Honestly, I think you both have a valid point." Tiffany tried to be neutral about it all. "Do you think Michael or I have the better idea?" Jacob insisted. "I think we should go with Jacob's idea, but Michael's ide-" She was cut off. "There. We'll go to the mountain tonight and rest up at the base." Jacob kept moving, while Michael's fists were clenched.

"Calm down, Michael." Ally smiled at him and gave him a hug. He relaxed only a little bit, but managed to give Ally a hug too. "I'm telling you Luke, that girl has the magic touch." Linzi whispered to Luke and Ravenmon. "You can say that again." Torpedomon giggled as Luke and Ravenmon chuckled. "Guys, they've already left us!" Linzi alerted the boys to the issue. "Well, come on then, let's go!" Luke and Ravenmon had already flown past by the time that Linzi had told them. "Thanks for bringing me with you guys, I really appreciate it!" Linzi mocked. "It's just a guy think, Linzi! We girls are nothing like that." Torpedomon chimed in, making Linzi laugh.

The four quickly caught up to the others, where, despite her best efforts, Ally couldn't keep Michael and Jacob from bickering. "You two, knock it off!" Tiffany walked behind both of them and smacked their heads. "Ow, that hurt!" They spoke at the same time. "Get over it. You're being ridiculous." Azuremon growled. "He has a point you know, Michael." Chinchilmon chimed in. "He really does." Caninmon added. "Sheesh! Double teamed on all sides." Jacob sighed. "At least it's not the actual thing." Michael pointed out. "That's exactly right!" Luke smiled. "Positivity is a wonderful thing." Ally smiled and Kangamon nodded.

"Ravenmon! What do you see up there?" Luke yelled up to Ravenmon who was scouting the area ahead of them. "It seems to me that it's just a bunch of trees surrounding a mountain!" Ravenmon yelled back down. "Well, that gives us next to no places to actually set up camp." Michael noted, smiling slightly at the circumstances. "Well, do you have any ideas, big shot?" Jacob turned around and glared angrily at Michael. "I literally didn't even say anything and here you go, snapping at me again." Michael glared as well, creating a hostile field.

"Boys, stop being ridiculous!" Linzi got in-between the two. "Look, I know things have been hard, but there are better ways to let it out than fighting." Torpedomon stepped up to the plate as well. "Keep it together you two, there are always better ways than fighting." Caninmon barked and Azuremon nodded. "Violence is the last options in most situations." Azuremon noted.

Suddenly, the ground began shaking. "WOAH! WHAT IS THIS? AN EARTHQUAKE?" Ally fell on the ground, as did most of the digimon except for Azuremon. "It was a really powerful one, that's for sure!" Tiffany braced herself for any aftershocks. "That didn't last too long, but wow, it did some serious damage to the way up!" Ravenmon cried down, having seen the path collapse. "Oh no! How are we supposed to get up there now?" Kangamon bounced back up, as did Caninmon. "Simple. We find a way around the barrier." Jacob assumed. "Duh, but how do we do that, smart one?" Michael frowned. "I could think better if some people would be quiet." Jacob turned around and took a step towards Michael. "Oh no, this again. Just punch me already and get over yourself." Michael laughed.

"Will you two knock it off? You're being incredib-" Luke tried to get in-between the two. "Tell him that!" Michael yelled as a digimon emerged out of the earth. "What is that digimon?" Linzi screamed. "HA! I AM COREDRAMON! STIKE BOMBER!" The green dragon that looked like it was covered in minerals shot a massive fireball at the group once it had gotten out of the ground. "ALRIGHT! SPLIT!" Ally yelled as the group dodged the fireball. "Alright, I've had enough of you and I barely even know you!" Torpedomon got back up quickly. "BE CAREFUL TORPEDOMON!" Linzi yelled as her digivice started glowing.

"TORPEDOMON DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO DOLFINOMON!" The two champion level digimons faced off against each other. "HYA! AQUA BLASTER!" Dolfinomon shot out the powerful blast of water that knocked Coredramon on its back. "We need to be careful! That's Coredramon, a champion level digimon whose green flare breath can knock you out with only its stench!" Caninmon jumped back up. "GRAAAAAAH! STIKE BOMBER!" Coredramon threw another giant fireball at the group. "NO YOU DON'T! AQUA BLASTER!" Dolfinomon canceled the attack with another stream of water. "GRAAAAAH! I DON'T LIKE WATER!" Coredramon grabbed Dolfinomon in its massive claws. "HEY! LET GO OF ME YOU STUPID DRAGON!" Dolfinomon tried to wiggle free. "Hang on Dolfinomon, I'm coming!" Ravenmon flew after the Coredramon while Luke's digivice was glowing.

"RAVENMON DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO TOUCAMON!" Toucamon scratched Coredramon in its eyes with Toucamon's massive talons. "Not so cool now when you've got two digimon, ey?" Toucamon prepared himself. "FIERY WING!" The fire attack hit Coredramon in the eyes, further infuriating the digimon. "He's not giving up! There's got to be a dark strip on him somewhere!" Michael yelled, scanning the Coredramon for a darker than normal part of its body. "THERE!" Tiffany saw it and pointed it out to the fighting digimon. "DOLFINOMON AND TOUCAMON! THE DARK STRIP IS ON ITS WING!" She yelled. "GOT IT!" Dolfinomon yelled as she let out another Aqua Blaster.

"Nothing is keeping it down!" Jacob yelled. "HAH! Did you think I would go down that EASILY?" Coredramon got up again after another combined attack from Dolfinomon and Toucamon. "NOW! HOW DO YOU LIKE THIS? GREEN FLARE BREATH!"He opened his mouth and a green gas billowed out of it and surrounded Dolfinomon and Toucamon, forcing them to dedigivolved into Torpedomon and Ravenmon. "HEY! YOU BIG LUNK! HOW ABOUT YOU PICK ON SOMEONE YOUR OWN SIZE?!" Linzi threw a big tree branch to distract him from attacking the two rookie digimon. "Thanks Linzi, but it's time for you to get out of here!" Torpedomon and Ravenmon quickly got up and ran out of the way.

"Kangamon and Chinchilmon, can you digivolve?" Ally asked as Michael looked on. "No, I can't… I just don't have enough energy…" Kangamon explained, but Chinchilmon nodded. "I can give it a try, Michael! You ready?" Michael nodded. "Let's go!" Chinchilmon jumped into the air as Michael's digivice started glowing.

"CHINCHILMON DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO TRILEPTIMON!" The four legged digimon growled at Coredramon, distracting it from its primary target of Luke and Linzi. "ASTIRE SLASH!" The powerful attack struck Coredramon in the face, directing its attention back to Trileptimon, who dodged another Stike Bomber attack. "For such a big guy, you don't have very good aim." Trileptimon's low voice cut through the air like a knife. "I'LL SHOW YOU WHO'S GOT AIM! HIYA! STIKE BOMBER!" Coredramon sent another attack, but at Jacob and Michael instead! "GET OUT OF THERE!" Michael pushed Jacob out of the way and fell, leaving him defenseless. "MICHAEL! GET UP! YOU'VE GOT TO MOVE!" Jacob yelled and started to turn around to rescue him.

"GO! I'll be fine! Been through worse." Michael calmly smiled and turned to look at the Stike Bomber attack. "Are you crazy? COME ON! GET UP!" Jacob ran to Michael and started pulling him away from the attack. "Are you crazy? You're going to get killed!" Michael exclaimed in shock. "GET UP YOU IDIOT!" Jacob finally got Michael standing up right as the Stike Bomber got in hitting range. "GO! RUN!" Jacob pushed Michael out of the way of the attack and braced himself right as his digivice started glowing, and Caninmon began shining. "JACOB, WATCH OUT!" Caninmon howled.

"CANINMOOOOOON!" Caninmon went bipedal and his black fur was replaced by a dark red fur. His eyes turned a dark green color, and his claws grew sharper. "DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" He leaned back and howled to reveal razor sharp teeth, all while a pair of brass knuckles appeared on his fists. "RANETSUMON!" Ranetsumon wasted no time at all rescuing Jacob. "WOLF'S ILLUSION!" The digimon began running on all fours at super-sonic speeds, causing there to be three of him. The copies went to take the brunt of the blow while Ranetsumon grabbed Jacob and threw him on his back. "Please don't ever do anything stupid like that again." Ranetsumon gently dropped Jacob after they had moved a safe distance away. "YOU GO RANETSUMON!" Jacob cheered as Ranetsumon ran back out to help Trileptimon with the fight against Coredramon.

"ASTIRE STRIKE!" Trileptimon fired off another attack when Ranetsumon arrived. "Glad to see that you're finally here, Ranetsumon. Now, HELP ME!" Michael's partner told him. "That's right." Ranetsumon jumped up. "Oh yay! That's Ranetsumon, Caninmon's champion form! His super powerful Wolf Knuckles will knock the evil right out of that Coredramon!" Kangamon cheered from where the rest of the group was hiding. "GRAH! WOLF KNUCKLES!" Ranetsumon jumped onto Coredramon's back while Trileptimon distracted him. The brass knuckles that Ranetsumon was wearing shined a bright white and when Ranetsumon punched Coredramon's wing with them, Coredramon cried out in pain. "YOOOOOOOU!" The dark strip flew off and Coredramon suddenly disappeared.

"Wait, what? Where did he go?" Luke got up and carried Ravenmon over to the other two boys. "I'm not sure! Ranetsumon, can you smell anything?" Jacob asked his partner. "What about you, Trileptimon?" Michael asked the sniffing digimon. "I cannot smell anything. It's like he just disappeared into digital data." Ranetsumon growled and jumped to Michael, turning around and glaring at something. "Up there. There's something up there." Trileptimon trotted over as well. "Yes, I feel it too. It is dark." "Hey everyone! Quick! Get over here!" Michael called over to the others who quickly ran over. "What is it, you guys?" Ally asked the trio. "There's something up there." Kangamon and the other digimon glanced at each other. "This could be that evil." Azuremon stated.

"What an astute observation! Heeheeheee! I suppose I should introduce myself then, how about it?" A mysterious voice floated throughout the area. "Where are you? Show yourself!" Ranetsumon growled again and stood protectively in front of Jacob. "Ranetsumon, I'm fine, you don't need to worry about me right now." Jacob pushed around the digimon to see the dark data particles slowly forming in front of the group. "My name… is… Antylamon." The digimon gasped in shock. "Wait, isn't Antylamon supposed to be a good digimon?" Ravenmon slowly came to. "Perhaps I can explain a little bit. Watch now."

Antylamon waved his hand and a cage appeared with another Antylamon inside of it. "Wait, what?" Torpedomon's jaw dropped in shock. "You see, this is Antylamon as well. One is good, and one is bad. I am bad, he is good. You see? I captured him a long time ago, long before any of you even had digital thoughts in your brains." Antylamon began to chuckle. "We're not afraid of you!" Jacob yelled. "YOU SHOULD BE!" Antylamon E growled, and Ranetsumon growled right back. "Cute. Your digimon are powerless to stop me from getting exactly what I want!" Antylamon snapped his fingers and another digimon appeared. "Amuse me while I prepare for your destruction." He began walking away while the cage slowly disappeared. "Antylamon! We'll save you!" Ally cried out after the good digimon disappeared. "I shall be waiting for you, dearies!" Come to the top of the mountain once you are finished, okay?" Antylamon E flew up to the top of the mountain, laughing cruelly.

"Alright, well, I guess we better get to the task at hand. What digimon is that?" Linzi turned her attention to the new digimon. "EEEEEEEEEE! DOOOOLPHMOOOON!" The dolphin looking digimon raced around the digidestined, thoroughly confusing them. "Um, does it have a dark strip on it?" Tiffany frowned at the playful digimon. "Yes, it does. There it is, on its fin." Azuremon pointed out the dark strip. "Poor Dolphmon… They're normally a peaceful digimon that love to play in the seas with Whamon." Torpedomon sighed. "Well, let's get the dark strip off of it, I guess." Linzi smiled and Torpedomon stepped forward. "Dolphmon, you have a nasty thing on you that's supposed to turn you evil. Can we take it off?" She asked, hoping to get a yes answer. "Of course! They should know by this point that us Dolphmon don't want to fight anyone ever!"

Antylamon E stared, shocked at the audacity of Torpedomon and Dolphmon. "GRAH! HAVE IT YOUR WAY! ARM BOMBER!" He fired off a powerful attack at the Dolphmon. "WATCH OUT GUYS!" Linzi yelled and Torpedomon dodged out of the way. However, Dolphmon wasn't so fortunate, as the attack hit her. "Oh… I'm sorry for not helping more!" Dolphmon apologized to the group before dissolving into digital data. "ANTYLAMON! YOU'LL PAY FOR THAT!" Torpedomon growled at the evil digimon, who simply laughed. "What are you waiting for? Come, come up the path! I made it just for you."

"There's an issue with that, Einstein." Michael pointed out. "The path was crushed by your genius Coredramon." Jacob finished. "Easily solved." Antylamon E waved his hand and a patron of Gotsumon appeared and began cleaning up the mess, having it clean within minutes. "Gotsumon, dismissed." Antylamon E waved his hand again and they disappeared. "Did you destroy them too? How could you do such a thing to poor innocent digimon?" Ally yelled at the evil digimon. "It's simply. I can do it because I'm the only one around here powerful enough to stop me!" As Antylamon dissolved into evil laughter, the digidestined slowly began to make their way up the cliff.

"Oh, good. You're coming now? Do try to hurry, I have an appointment with the Good Antylamon at seven tomorrow morning." Antylamon E walked into the middle of the platform, laughing manically as the digidestined slowly made their way up the massive mountain. "We've got to hurry guys! The good Antylamon is counting on us!" Ranetsumon picked up Ravenmon and Jacob and prepared to jump up the cliff. "Kangamon, you wanna help too?" Ally looked down at her partner. Kangamon nodded. "KANGAMON DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOO TUNIPYMOOOOON!" Tunipymon picked up Ally and put her in her pouch. "It's warm in here!" Ally sighed contently while Tunipymon laughed.

"Hey Ravenmon, mind giving me a bit of a lift? I know it's a bit early, but we'll need all the help we can get!" Luke glanced at his partner, who had just jumped out of Ranetsumon's arms. "Don't worry, I ate lots!" Ravenmon assured him. "RAVENMON DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO TOUCAMON!" Toucamon swooped down and Luke grabbed onto his talon. "Hold on Luke!" Toucamon yelled while flying upwards. "Hey, Linzi and Torpedomon, do you want to ride?" Trileptimon asked. "I've got room for two more!" Michael laughed a bit and helped the two up. "Alright everyone! Let's go up!" Azuremon and Tiffany yelled from their spots on Toucamon, who had just grabbed the two.

The group of 12 soon reached the top, and Torpedomon decided that it would be a good time to digivolve. "TORPEDOMON DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOO DOLFINOMON!" The noise alerted Antylamon to their appearance. "Oh, how wonderful! Twelve little foolish children and their friends who think they can beat me, an ULTIMATE?" He began to chuckle. "Are they even trying anymore?" He asked. "We'll beat you! If we work together, we'll always overcome whatever we face in our way!" Jacob yelled, and Antylamon lost it. "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" After the evil digimon calmed down a bit, he prepared himself. "If you're so sure of that, then let the battle… BEGIN!" Antylamon yelled and jumped in the air, blocking out the sun from the digidestined. "HIYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" He yelled as the digidestined readied themselves for the battle of their lives.


	6. The Power of Light!

Disclaimer! I own only my OCs and potentially a few of the OC digimon. Everything else is owned by Saban Brands.

Hope you all enjoy! Note, I do not have a Beta, so any mistakes are yours truly!

Chapter 6

"HIYAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Antylamon E jumped into the air and blocked out the sun. "NOT SO FAST!" Ranetsumon howled. "WOLF KNUCKLES!" Jacob's partner met Antylamon E in the air. "You thought." Antylamon E smirked and easily batted Ranetsumon away. "RANETSUMON!" Jacob ran to meet his digimon, who landed roughly on the ground a few yards away. "Are you okay?" Jacob asked as Ranetsumon dedigivolved back into Caninmon. "I'll be fine… In a little bit…" Caninmon looked up at his friend. "Watch… out…" He panted before laying back down. "What?" Jacob looked up, only to see Antylamon E standing over him. "Going somewhere? Now you are!" Antylamon E began maniacally laughing.

The group watched, helpless to intervene as Jacob and Caninmon were blown off of the mountain. "You'll be lucky to ever see him again!" Antylamon E turned around to be greeted by the many digimon attacking. "TRIAN BEAM!" Azuremon jumped up and distracted Antylamon E while Trileptimon, Kangamon, Dolfinomon, and Toucamon attacked him from the side. "ASTIRE STRIKE!" "AQUA BLASTER!" "FIERY WING!" "GROUND PUMELLER!" The four attacks hit Antylamon E and created a massive cloud of smoke.

"WOOO! That should've done him in for sure!" Tiffany cheered as the group gathered together. "Hahaha… HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Antylamon E stood up and glared at the digimon. "YOU THOUGHT THAT HURT ME? I'LL SHOW YOU HURT NOW!" He jumped up into the air again. "Everyone, take cover!" The digimon went to protect their respective partners as they braced for the impact of the attack. "GRAAAAAAAAAAAAH! ASIPATRAVANA!" Antylamon E began spinning around at super high speeds while wielding two massive axes, creating a tornado of powerful energy blasts and high wind gusts. "WATCH OUT GUYS!" Linzi cried out, worried for the digimon.

The powerful attack struck each of the digimon and forced them to dedigivolve, except for Azuremon, who held strong against the attack. "TORPEDOMON!" Linzi screamed as she was blown away from the mountain with her partner. "HANG ON TIGHT RAVENMON!" Luke yelled as he and his digimon were blown to the south. "HERE GOES NOTHING CHINCHILMON!" Michael tightened his hold on Chinchilmon. "KANGAMON!" Ally cried out in fear as she and the kangaroo digimon plummeted to the ground. "OH NO! EVERYONE!" Tiffany screamed as she watched her friends plummet to the ground.

She watched as Antylamon E slowly walked over to Azuremon and herself. "Now, for you, little girl." Antylamon cackled. "TRIAN BEAM!" Azuremon attacked the powerful digimon. "Ouch. You should pay more care as to where you aim that thing." Antylamon E flinched from the attack. "Is that so? Can you not handle a simple light digimon?" Azuremon tried to draw him away from Tiffany. "Azuremon…" Tiffany whispered, her eyes as large as they could get as she processed what the digimon was doing. "Ha." Antylamon E scoffed. "There is no digimon that is as powerful as I am." He began to attack Azuremon again.

"What about me, Antylamon?" A voice appeared from behind Antylamon E. "What?" Antylamon E slowly turned around. "WHAT?! HOW DID YOU GET OUT OF THAT?" He yelled in shock as he saw Antylamon G standing behind him. "A little thing called a diversion." Antylamon G slowly said. "You're not as smart as you think you are, hey now." "That's… Not true at all. You escaping means nothing. I can still destroy you at any time." Antylamon E turned around to see an empty spot where Azuremon once was. "Gah! Where did that digimon go?" Antylamon E turned around to be greeted by the end of an arm. "ARM BOMBER!" Antylamon G yelled, stunning Antylamon E into staying in place. "Quickly, Azuremon, allow me to take care of this jokester. Protect Tiffany." Anytlamon G smiled and turned his attention back to Antylamon E as the two began fighting again.

"Quickly Tiffany, we must hide, or we will be caught up in the crossfire." Azuremon began to drag Tiffany away from the cliff top. "There's a cave a little ways down. We should be safe in there." Tiffany pointed out as the fighting digimon grew farther away. "Then we must hurry to it." The duo began to run down the hill in search of the cave. "Over here." Tiffany whispered to her partner, showing him the cave. "We'll be safe in here." Azuremon checked the cave first, and then went in. "Now, we wait." Azuremon sat down, as did Tiffany as the day turned to night.

In the forest near the mountain

Jacob slowly came to, wondering where he was. "Was this all some big dream?" He wondered out loud, sitting up as he looked around. However, he quickly spotted the giant mountain, as well as Caninmon. "Nope, it was all real. Caninmon! Are you okay?" He got up and ran over to his digimon partner. The dog digimon slowly shook himself awake. "I was… so worried about you…" Caninmon struggled to his feet. "Here, I'll carry you. You need to save your energy." Jacob picked up his digimon. "Okay… We need to help Tiffany and Azuremon…" Caninmon woofed weakly. "Well, first we need to get you up to full strength; otherwise you won't be able to help." Jacob pointed out. "That's true too… There must be fruit nearby…" Caninmon sniffed a little bit and pointed Jacob in a direction.

"Caninmon, do you know how long I was out for?" Jacob asked the tired digimon. "We got knocked off the cliff top two nights ago. It's been a long time." Jacob gasped. "We've got to hurry then. There's no telling what Antylamon E could do to Tiffany and Azuremon!" He began to speed up through the forest, grabbing any fruit he could see. "Slow down there, Jacob. There's something good up there right now, helping those two. They'll be fine for a little while. I need to get my strength back…" Caninmon calmed the boy down. "All right, we'll go slowly, but when you get your strength back, we've got to go back up." Jacob conceded.

The two quickly found enough food to eat and sat down to begin their lunch. "Mmmm! This is yummy!" Caninmon began gobbling it up. "Slow down there buddy." Jacob laughed. "We don't want you getting sick, especially not now." Jacob grabbed a piece of fruit out of Caninmon's paws. "Awww, but food is yummy!" Caninmon pouted. "Yes, it is, but moderation is always important, especially out here." Jacob waggled his finger at his partner.

"Hey, do you hear something?" Jacob sat up and looked around. "Yeah, I do. It sounds like its coming from over there." Caninmon swallowed the piece of food that he had in his mouth and turned around. "Be prepared to run if we need to." Jacob told the digimon. "GRAAAAAAAAAAH!" A yellow and green plant-looking digimon jumped out of the bushes and roared at the two. "Oh, it's okay! That's just Vegiemon! He's nonviolent as long as you give him what he wants, which is food." Caninmon explained. "I hate to break it to you buddy, but Vegiemon sure doesn't look nonviolent right now!" Jacob yelled as the digimon attacked.

"HYA! COMPOST BOMBER!" Vegiemon threw some pink goop at the two and they started running. "CANINMON, I DON'T THINK HE LIKES US VERY MUCH!" Jacob yelled as pink goop flew over his shoulder. "OKAY, DON'T LOOK BACK JUST KEEP RUNNING, OKAY!" Caninmon yelled as another piece flew over his head. The two swung around a tree and hid from Vegiemon for a little bit. "Was that a dark strip on its back?" Jacob whispered to Caninmon. "You betcha. Antylamon E is still at work despite fighting whatever is up there." He agreed. "VEGIEMON STINK JET!" Vegiemon suddenly appeared behind them again and released an attack, causing the two to gag on the stench.

"RUN!" Jacob yelled again as they began to run down the same path as earlier, dodging more pink goop. "WHAT THE HECK ARE WE SUPPOSED TO DO?" Caninmon yelled at Jacob. "YOU'RE THE DIGIMON, I HAVE NO CLUE!" Jacob yelled back. "Wait, I have an idea. We just have to get behind it, okay?" Jacob whispered, retracting his earlier statement. "Well, I'm all ears, I guess." Caninmon shrugged and quickly jumped off of the path into the trees, with Jacob following. "Well, we got behind him. Now what's up?" Caninmon asked and let out a muffled yell as Jacob picked him up. "Quiet. We have to get him to look at us, and then I'll throw you onto its back where you can get the dark strip." Jacob quietly explained. "Got it. I can do that. Destroy the dark strip, okay, pretty simple." Caninmon quietly barked. The two ran out back into the path behind the Vegiemon and caught its attention.

"HEY! POTATO LUMP! OVER HERE!" Jacob laughed. "COME AND GET US!" Caninmon barked. "YAAAAAA! VEGIEMON!" The Vegiemon was not known for being particularly fast, but this one moved faster than any normal Vegiemon. Because of that, it was in Jacob's face within seconds, seriously startling him. "HEY!" Jacob punched it and grabbed Caninmon, who curled up into a ball. "NOW CANINMON!" Caninmon jumped into the air and landed on its back. "HYPER BLAST!" Caninmon aimed the attack right at the digimon's back, destroying the dark strip. "There we go!" Jacob struck a pose.

"Thank you so much for helping me. That nasty dark strip made me so mean and annoyed that I couldn't even think straight! Is there any way I can help you?" Vegiemon frowned and scuffled at the ground. "Hey, don't worry about it. If you've seen anything out of the normal, could you please let us know?" Jacob asked the digimon. "Why of course! I thought I saw another creature like you heading towards the mountain awhile back, but that was before I was hit by that dark strip." Vegiemon began hopping off. "Thank you guys!" He called back to Jacob and Caninmon. "Be safe Vegiemon!" Caninmon barked back. "Back to the mountain? Well, we might as well start heading that way." Jacob and Caninmon began the trek to the mountain.

On the northern side of the mountain

"Oof! It is so snowy here!" Ally shivered as snow fell all around her. "Are you getting cold?" Kangamon bounced along right next to her. "That's an understatement. I've been cold for a while now, Kangamon. It's just in my blood." Ally stuck her tongue at Kangamon. "That's true, you guys sure don't retain heat well!" Kangamon giggled. "Okay, we need to get to the mountain, right? We're almost there!" Ally cheered. "It only took two days of walking, but we're almost there. Maybe we'll find the others too!" Kangamon sped up a bit. "That's right! And there have been no digimon attacks too, which is even better." Ally smiled and immediately regretted her words.

"SUBZERO ICE PUNCH!" Kangamon and Ally dove to the right to avoid the attack. "Frigimon! And he's got a dark strip on him!" Kangamon bounced back up. "Frigimon is normally a peaceful digimon, but he's all bad now, and with that dark strip and subzero ice punch on him, we could be popsicles!" "Well, let's get moving then!" Ally kept moving forward, trying to outrun Frigimon. "GRAAAAAH! SUBZERO ICE PUNCH!" Frigimon's attack missed them by a foot. "Eep! FASTER!" Ally yelled as the duo sped up even more.

Behind them, Frigimon kept trying to hit them with a subzero ice punch, but kept missing each time. "I think he's far enough away to where we can keep a steady pace now." Kangamon told Ally. "I agree." She turned around to watch Frigimon try to catch up with them. "Keep moving though, we've got to make it to the mountain and help Tiffany and Azuremon." Ally told herself. "That's right. They need our help now more than ever." Kangamon agreed as the two kept heading towards the mountain.

"This is a large forest, isn't it?" Ally asked Kangamon, who nodded. "Remember? This is part of the forest where Michael and Jacob fought again." Kangamon reminded her. "Oh, yeah… That whole issue…" Ally sighed and looked up at the mountain again. "Oh, why can't they just get along?" She collapsed to the ground, which was no longer covered in snow, and began crying. "I just want to get out of this place so I can keep living my life but as long as they keep bickering, we'll be stuck here…" Kangamon brushed away Ally's tears using her tail. The digimon gave Ally a hug. "Don't cry Ally… I've got a theory as to why they argue so much."

"What is that theory?" Ally asked the kangaroo digimon. "Okay, Jacob is clearly the leader of the group, right? He's always coming up with solutions, making decisions, leading the pack when we travel, all that kind of stuff." Ally nodded in agreement. "Meanwhile, you have Michael, who has problems with authority. Jacob is trying to make Michael see his authority, and Michael can't accept that, so is fighting back at any possible opportunity." Kangamon finished, and Ally nodded. "I'd agree with that. Michael's had only one good authority experience, and Jacob can be a bit overbearing on that aspect. But still, they shouldn't have to actually fight. These things can be sorted out through words, not fists…" She trailed off.

"You got that right. However, there's one piece of this puzzle that you're missing. Michael is very protective of you." Kangamon noted. "Well yeah, I guess that's true." Ally smiled. "So when Jacob told you to back off the first fight they had, it rubbed Michael the wrong way since you were the only one who he knew and cared for." Kangamon looked around, thinking she saw something. "Is that true? Oh, he really doesn't have to do any of this for me… I'm just normal Ally, a hoodlum from the street!" She exclaimed in shock.

"Quiet." Kangamon whispered quickly. "Hm?" Ally crouched and prepared herself to run. "SUBZERO ICE PUNCH!" Frigimon came blasting out of the forest. "UGH! I THOUGHT WE LOST HIM!" Ally screamed and began running again. "LET'S GO, ALLY!" Kangamon quickly followed the girl as the duo raced through the forest in an attempt to escape Frigimon. "SUBZERO ICE PUNCH!" The controlled digimon let out another attack, striking the tree right next to Ally. "AIYEEE!" She screamed again and dodged another ice ball right where she had been just a few seconds prior.

"Kangamon! We might have to fight!" Ally panted as the two came to a stop just a short whiles away from Frigimon. "I know, and I think I have enough energy to keep it going until we reach the top." Kangamon smiled and agreed. "So, let's go!" Ally yelled as Kangamon jumped over her head. "POWERFUL KICK!" The kick brought Frigimon to his knees. "GRAAAAAAH! SUBZERO ICE PUNCH!" Frigimon punched the ground in front of him, causing it to turn to ice. "We've got to get the dark strip off of Frigimon!" Ally noticed as Kangamon maneuvered herself around the Frigimon.

"HIYA! POWERFUL KICK!" Kangamon was distracting Frigimon by jumping on its back while Ally tried to think of a plan. However, things turned sour quickly when another digimon appeared. "KANGAMON WATCH OUT!" Ally yelled as the new digimon appeared. "EEP! That's Harpymon! She's a champion level digimon that's rather nasty! Her Wind Seeker attack can blow you away!" Kangamon hopped off of Frigimon's back and dodged Harpymon. "Ally, we've got trouble now!" "That's right! It's time to digivolve!" Ally yelled as her digivice glowed. "KANGAMON DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO TUNIPYMON!"

The champion level digimons faced off against each other. "Tunipymon, is there a dark strip on the Harpymon?" "I can see one on her wing, Ally." Tunipymon alerted her. "Aim for the wing and back then!" "GRAH! BRANCH CRUSH!" Tunipymon hefted the branch up and used her powerful legs to jump up and knock the Frigimon down. She then used the downed Frigimon as a platform to jump into the air to knock Harpymon down. "There you go Tunipymon!" Ally cheered.

Out of nowhere, both of the digimon disappeared. "Wait, what?" Tunipymon fell to the ground, landing on her feet. "Where did they go?" Ally asked. "Wait, it's the same thing that happened with Coredramon right before Antylamon E appeared!" Tunipymon picked Ally up quickly and started hurtling towards the mountain. "I'M SORRY ALLY, BUT WE'VE GOT TO HURRY!" She yelled over the wind while Ally screamed. "IT'S FINE, BUT OH MY GOSH, WE ARE GOING SO FAST!" She yelled back.

At the top of the mountain

"Can you hear anything, Azuremon?" Tiffany whispered to the digimon. "No, it's like everything's gone completely quiet…" He whispered back, dread growing in his heart. "Do you think-" Tiffany started but was cut off by a large boom. "That's what I was worried about." Azuremon let that sit in the dark air. "We've got to be quiet." Tiffany whispered. Azuremon maneuvered himself so that he was in front of her.

"Get ready…" Azuremon whispered as he felt the rumble of something approaching. The ground started rumbling and the wall closing the cave off began to crumble, revealing a digimon drilling through the wall. "Just what I thought." Antylamon E laughed. "That Antylamon couldn't defeat me, he could barely even harm me!" "TRIAN BEAM!" Azuremon yelled and fired off the attack, sending Antylamon E back a few feet. "WATCH IT!" Tiffany yelled as Antylamon jumped up and back onto the top of the cliff. "Why don't you just come up here and watch while I destroy this fool once and for all?" Antylamon E cackled evilly.

Azuremon quickly ran out, Tiffany hot on his heels, and made it to the top of the platform. "TRIAN BEAM!" He yelled again to distract Antylamon E from hurting Antylamon G. "Your little attacks will not do anything to me." Antylamon E clucked disapprovingly. "You're only a rookie, and I'm an ultimate. You have no advantages on me." Azuremon frowned and nodded. "You may be right in that regard, but all I have to do is injure you enough so that the others can take care of you." He spoke defiantly, knowing that he had a very little chance to survive. "The others will not get here in time. Yes, Antylamon G disabled my dark strips, but the mountain is simply too large for them to ascend in the time that it will take for me to defeat you." Antylamon E turned to Tiffany and Azuremon. "Now, let us truly begin. TREASURE AXE!" A pair of gigantic axes appeared in Antylamon E's hands.

"ASIPATRAVANA!" Antylamon E chuckled darkly as he spun around at super fast speeds, causing the Treasure Axes to become a shredding machine. "See how you can handle this…" He ominously said before charging at the two. "TRIAN BEAM!" Azuremon fired another attack before jumping up, taking Tiffany with him. "CROSS FIRE!" Azuremon crossed his arms in an X shape and sent energy pulsing through them, firing two green beams at Antylamon E, knocking him off course and into a rock. "Ha. It seems that you've discovered a new trick, haven't you. How long did that one take?" Antylamon E laughed as Tiffany fumed. "HEY YOU! WHY DON'T YOU JUST GROW UP A LITTLE BIT AND LEAVE THIS POOR INNOCENT PLACE ALONE?" She yelled, infuriated by the evil digimon's playfulness with sentient life.

"Oh cute. The girl is getting angry." Antylamon E laughed again. "I… Wouldn't underestimate her…" Antylamon G coughed weakly from where he lay. "Silence, you fool. The digimon is still a rookie and therefore has no chance against me. I have powers that no Ultimate has ever seen before." Antylamon E glared at the other digimon. "Now, let's try that again, shall we? ARM BOMBER!" He quickly raised his arm and fired the energy blast at Tiffany, but hit Azuremon, who took the hit for Tiffany. "AZUREMON!" Tiffany ran to her digimon partner who had been flung back several feet and into a rock.

"Oh, you'll pay for that one now." Tiffany saw that Azuremon was alright and turned around to Antylamon E, who was already gloating about the victory that he thought he had won. "Oh please, you know that none of you can ever hope to stand up to me, right? Ahahahahahaha!" He laughed, not realizing what was going on around him. "Azuremon… Take my strength… Fight Antylamon E and win…" Antylamon G had dragged himself over to Azuremon without the evil digimon noticing. "Energy spread…" Antylamon G and Azuremon began to shine a bright light. "Wait, what? What is going on here?" Antylamon E opened his eyes and saw the light.

"That's right, Antylamon E. You may think that you're the all powerful digimon around these parts, but we're here to show you that your weakness lies in your strength. LET'S GO AZUREMON!" Tiffany raised her digivice in the air as Azuremon shined even brighter.

"AZUREMOOOOOOOOON!" The light from the digivice flowed into Azuremon, who began the digivolution process. Azuremon began to float in the air as his skin changed from a dark brown color to a very light brown color. His muzzle retracted into his skull and a normal mouth appeared, while his ears were covered by a black and white helmet that held the yin symbol on one side and the yang symbol on the other side. You could still see his eyes as well, and they shined a bright red color.  
DIGIVOOOOOOOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Finally, a wooden staff appeared in his right hand, that had also gained a fingerless glove. The tunic that was draped across his shoulder was as white as anything could be, while a small grey belt appeared around his waist as well. "TAIONGMON!"

Antylamon E covered his eyes as the light slowly faded to reveal Taiongmon in all of his glory, as well as Tiffany, who was standing right next to her partner. "Guess what you missed this time, Antylamon E." She told him. "GRAH! IT DOESN'T MATTER IF HE DIGIVOLVED OR NOT! I AM AN ULTIMATE! NO CHAMPION CAN DEFEAT ME!" Antylamon E growled and began to approach Taiongmon. "Be careful Taiongmon!" Tiffany told him as she ran to Antylamon G and began to tend to his wounds.

Across the island

"WOAH! What was that bright light that came from the mountain?" Luke yelled as Ravenmon flew down. "I don't know, but it certainly seems like it's our ally! We better hurry up and get there quickly before anything else happens!" Ravenmon cawed in delight and prepared to digivolve to get to the top of the mountain faster. "RAVENMON DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO TOUCAMON!" "Alright! Let's go Toucamon!" Luke yelled as he hung on for dear life onto Toucamon's claw.

"Chinchilmon, are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Michael asked his digimon as they slid to a stop at the base of the mountain. "Yep! That light is certainly a good thing!" Chinchilmon chirped and began to celebrate. "Tiffany and Azuremon will be okay now!" "That's right, but they could need our help too. You've got to digivolve to get to the top, okay?" Michael told the digimon. "One step ahead of you!" He responded, cheekily. "CHINCHILMON DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO TRILEPTIMON!" He quickly digivolved and Michael hopped on his back. "Alright, let's ride to the top!" Michael felt the wind in his hair while the two quickly ascended the mountain.

"Dolfinomon, let's go! They need our help!" Linzi yelled as she sped up the mountain with her partner. "You got it! We've got to go as fast as we can now." Dolfinomon began to speed up, passing Linzi easily. "Go! They need you more than they need me!" Linzi told the digimon who waited for her. "Don't worry; I'm going to be fine! Antylamon E is too involved in that battle right now to send any evil digimon at me." Linzi assured Dolfinomon. "Well, if you're sure…" Dolfinomon sped up and began climbing the mountain quickly.

"Jacob, I hate to break it to you, but we don't have time to walk up this mountain!" Caninmon barked as he looked upwards at the peak of the mountain. "We don't? But how in the world are we going to get up there fast enough?" Jacob wondered, but was taken out of his wonderings by a loud screech. "JACOB! WE'RE COMING TO GET YOU!" Luke yelled over the sound of the wind as Toucamon landed near him. "Come on Caninmon, hop in!" Jacob grabbed his partner with one hand and ran to Toucamon. "You're going to need to hang on tight." Toucamon cawed and began to fly off with Jacob holding Caninmon and hanging onto Toucamon's leg for dear life while Luke rode on his back. "HANG IN THERE TIFFANY AND AZUREMON!" The four heard another voice from below as they saw Michael riding Trileptimon, heading up the mountain as fast as possible. Jacob looked the other way and also saw Tunipymon and Ally bouncing up the mountain, while Dolfinomon raced up the hill as well, not too far behind Ally and Tunipymon, with Linzi just behind Dolfinomon. "Hang in there Tiffany and Azuremon. We're on our way…" Jacob trailed off, worried about his friends.

The group made it to the top of the mountain just in time to witness Azuremon digivolving, leaving the group in shock. "I always knew he had it in him." Dolfinomon confided to Linzi, who had caught up with her partner. "Alright, we ready for this?" Jacob looked down at Caninmon. "It's now or never." Toucamon told his partner. "You got that right." Luke laughed a little before they landed. "LET'S GO EVERYONE!" Ally yelled as Antylamon E looked up in shock. "What? IMPOSSIBLE!" He yelled as the digimon surrounded him. "THIS TIME, YOU SHALL ALL PERISH!" He growled and began the battle, growling ferociously.


	7. Decisions?

Disclaimer! I own only my OCs and potentially a few of the OC digimon. Everything else is owned by Saban Brands.

Hope you all enjoy! Note, I do not have a Beta, so any mistakes are yours truly!

A/N: Sorry for the cliffhangers lovelies! 3

Chapter 7

"GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Antylamon E jumped into the air and began to attack. "ASIPATRAVANA!" He began the deadly attack that wiped all of the digimon out in the last fight they had. "HYA!" Taiongmon thrust his staff out. "RIGHTEOUS LIGHT!" He yelled, creating a powerful beam of light from the top of his staff that stopped Antylamon E in his tracks. "ANTYLAMON E! YOUR DAYS OF CAUSING HARM AND DISTRUCTION TO THIS WORLD ARE OVER!" His voice boomed and echoed. "HA! THAT'S WHAT YOU THINK! ARM BOMBER!" Antylamon E laughed again and sent the powerful attack at Tiffany instead of at the digimon.

"NO!" Taiongmon cried out in horror as he tried to race over to save Tiffany as he heard her scream. "ANTYLAMON E!" Taiongmon turned to the evil digimon and began to shine a bright white light. "YOU SHALL PERISH!" He charged at Antylamon E and began to battle the digimon aggressively, determined to avenge his partner. "RIGHTEOUS LIGHT!" The battle began with a bang as Antylamon E was thrown back by the force of the powerful light attack. "YOU CANNOT DEFEAT ME!" The evil digimon declared as he stood up. "I CAN AND I SHALL!" Taiongmon attacked Antylamon E again.

"TIFFANY!" When the attack began to go in Tiffany's direction, Ally screamed and tried to run over there. "Ally, no! You'll be killed as well!" Tunipymon grabbed her and kept her from running at the attack to stop it. "LUKE, NO!" Toucamon grabbed Luke gently in his talons and flew up in the air. "LET ME DOWN! SHE'LL DIE!" He yelled as the blast neared Tiffany. "Do not worry, dear Tiffany… I shall… Protect you…" Antylamon G struggled to get to his feet, but managed to do so. "Antylamon G! NO!" Tiffany screamed as the attack connected with the good digimon instead of her. "GRAH!" Antylamon G fell to his knees and onto his back again.

"HE'LL PAY FOR THAT!" Trileptimon growled and quickly ran to Antylamon E and attacked him. "ASTIRE STRIKE!" The attack struck Antylamon E, distracting him from the next blow that Tunipymon landed on him. "GROUND PUMMELLER! NOW DOLFINOMON!" She hollered over the cries of the pained Antylamon E. "AQUA BLASTER!" Dolfinomon fired off her own attack and with as much power as she could muster. Antylamon E cried out again as Taiongmon stood over the evil digimon. "YOU… can never defeat me?" The now terrified digimon posed the statement as more of a question. "That's what YOU think." Taiongmon raised his staff.

"NOT SO FAST! TREASURE AXE!" Antylamon E snickered as he spun in a small circle, sending the digimon flying back, except for Taiongmon. "Now… Let me reveal my trump card!" Antylamon E jumped up into the air again, except this time he stayed there, laughing evilly. "EVIL MEDITATION CURE!" Antylamon E shined a dark purple as the mountain began to shudder and heave violently.

"WOAH!" Michael cried out as he grabbed onto a rock to keep from falling. "HOLD ON TIGHT!" Linzi told Dolfinomon as she had one hand on her digimon and the other hand in Luke's hand, who was still in Toucamon's talons. "What's making the ground shake so badly?" Luke wondered, looking up at Toucamon. "Antylamon E is doing something to the mountain, I think!" Trileptimon growled as Dolfinomon nodded. "LOOK OVER THERE!" Tunipymon slowly stood up and pointed to something in the distance.

"MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! MEET MY ULTIMATE WEAPON!" Antylamon E evilly laughed and pointed to the object rapidly approaching the mountain. "NOW! JUST TRY TO DEFEAT ME!" The pure black object struck Antylamon E in the small of his back and he began writhing in pain. "GRAAAAAAAAH!" He yelled as his skin changed to a jet black color, and his eyes turned a deep blood red. His treasure axes also doubled in size, yet he was still able to handle them very easily. "GORRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!" Dark Antylamon growled menacingly and landed back on the ground.

"HAAAAAGRAGAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Dark Antylamon thrust a hand out and Trileptimon was thrown back into another rock. "GRAH!" Tunipymon flew into Dolfinomon, who collapsed onto the ground. "DOLFINOMON!" Linzi cried out. "TRILEPTIMON, ARE YOU OKAY?" Michael yelled over Dark Antylamon's growls. "SIIIIIIIIILEEEEEEEEEEEEEENCE! YOU SHALL ALL PERISH!" Ally covered her ears as the evil digimon turned to Taiongmon. "AND YOU SHALL BE THE FIRST!"

"Not… If I have ANYTHING TO SAY ABOUT IT!" Antylamon G stood up with a massive hole in his chest, leaking a strange liquid. "ENERGY SPREAD!" Antylamon G threw his arms out and began to turn into data particles and charged at Taiongmon. "Ah?" Taiongmon watched as the data particles entered his staff. "What is it doing?" Luke looked up and saw the staff glowing. "Antylamon G is using the last remains of his energy to power up Taiongmon!" Caninmon cried out as Jacob watched in astonishment.

"HIYA!" Taiongmon's staff slowly turned into a massive sword, which he grabbed out of the air and spun it around before pointing it at Dark Antylamon. "A NOBLE SACRIFICE, BUT NOT ONE THAT WILL HELP YOU DEFEAT ME!" Dark Antylamon cackled. "Is that so, Dark Antylamon? Clearly you have not seen the true power of goodness!" Taiongmon growled. "LEND ME YOUR ENERGY, DIGIMON!" The various digivices began to glow and shot white light at the sword. "HOW DO YOU LIKE A TASTE OF YOUR OWN MEDICINE?" Taiongmon yelled as the light hit the sword.

"Hey! Torpedomon, are you okay?" Linzi asked her partner as Dolfinomon dedigivolved, as did the other digimon. "Yeah, I'm fine… He's using our energy to finally defeat that awful Dark Antylamon!" Torpedomon cheered. "So we're going to be okay?" Ally asked the now dedigivolved Kangamon. "That's right! Taiongmon will protect us now." She respond. "Indeed. We're all safe now." Chinchilmon told Michael happily. "That's wonderful!" Michael exclaimed and hugged Chinchilmon.

"NOW! DARK ANTYLAMON! FEEL THE POWER OF THE LIGHT!" Taiongmon cried out. "BLADE OF THE BELOVED!" Taiongmon lifted the sword and swung at Dark Antylamon, creating a massive blade of light that struck Dark Antylamon, cutting him in two. "NO! IT CANNOT BE! I CANNOT LOSE!" Dark Antylamon cried out. "LOOK! He's disintegrating!" Jacob cheered as Taiongmon's sword reformed into a very weak Antylamon G. "NO! MY POWER! I CANNOT LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" The last data particles of Dark Antylamon disappeared and vanished into the sky, while the group gathered around Antylamon G.

"Antylamon… You gave your life for this victory…" Tiffany began to cry. "Do not cry for me… It was a sacrifice that I had to make. You shall bring this world back to the way it was…" Antylamon muttered before going limp. "Antylamon…" Luke held back a sob. "Please don't go…" Jacob wiped his eyes for a second while Ally began bawling. "It's okay…" Michael hugged the girl as Kangamon nuzzled her leg. "Oh Antylamon…" Caninmon sniffed and looked at the ground. The group watched as Antylamon's body slowly dissolved into data particles. "Goodbye Antylamon..." Linzi turned around to watch the data particles fly into the sky. "What a sacrifice for us." Ravenmon landed on Luke's shoulder. "Indeed…" Taiongmon dedigivolved into Azuremon and walked up to Tiffany, clearly exhausted. "Azuremon…" Tiffany gave her a digimon a massive hug. "You saved us all." Torpedomon stated, matter-of-factly. "Well, I guess I did." Azuremon sheepishly smiled as the group began to cheer up.

"Well, what do we do now? Can we go home?" Ally asked. "I don't know Ally, but at least for now, we're safe." Michael replied. "You just had to say something…" Linzi glanced at Michael and then at the surrounding area. "What's wrong, Linzi?" Torpedomon asked. "He jinxed it." Tiffany let go of Azuremon and started looking around as well. "Is there something out there, Azuremon?" Caninmon asked the digimon. "I cannot feel anything. Can you see anything Ravenmon?" Ravenmon flew up into the air and did a quick surveillance check. "We're all clear from up here!" The flying digimon let those down below know. "Are you sure, Tiffany?" Jacob asked Tiffany. "Something else is here, I'm almost sure of it." Luke spoke up and looked behind him. "I concur. Look at this thing." Chinchilmon jumped on top of a strange platform that had appeared where Antylamon G had been lying just minutes before.

"Hello all!" A holographic old man appeared on the platform. "What? Who are you?" Jacob jumped back and pointed a finger at the man. "Always the same darn questions." The old man muttered. "My name is Gennai. I couldn't get a signal through to you due to your battle with Dark Antylamon, which, I might add, was spectacularly well done." "What do you want from us? Can you tell us why we're here and not in our safe homes?" Tiffany stared at the man, not wanting to believe that he was real. "Well, unfortunately not. I cannot help you on matters such as that. However, I believe that YOU can help me." The group began to all talk at once. "Wait, what? Help you?" Michael asked, intrigued. "I don't like him. He's really old and my mom said to not trust old men." Ally chimed in and sent Luke into a laughing fit. "Ally, he's not that kind of old man." Tiffany chided the young girl and looked at Gennai again. "How can we help you?" She asked.

"Dark Antylamon was simply one of the many dark and evil digimon that live in this world. On the continent where I live, Server, there is one in particular that is much more evil than the rest. Etemon." Gennai began to talk again. "Etemon is a very powerful digimon who wants nothing more than to take over the digital world and rule it forever under the hand of darkness." Caninmon growled and Azuremon chimed in. "I have heard of Etemon. They say that he has a dark network that can control nearly any digimon in Server." "That's right, Azuremon. Very intuitive." Gennai nodded. "Anyways, I digress. Etemon is very powerful and in your current state, you will not be able to defeat him." Chinchilmon frowned. "Why are you telling us this if we can't beat him?"

"That brings me to the second portion of this message. Scattered across the continent of Server are these powerful emblems that will allow your digimon to digivolve once again, into a stronger form. Only then will they be able to defeat Etemon." "Wait, emblems?" Linzi asked. "We can digivolve again?" Torpedomon asked at the same time, looking up at Linzi. "Yes and yes. However, you must have both the Crest and the Tag in which your Crest will be placed inside. The Crests will be scattered throughout the continent of Server, but the Tags were locked away by another digimon called Devimon, a truly evil digimon that has been since destroyed." Gennai affirmed. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Jacob and Caninmon cheered, but were stopped by Michael. "Hold your horses dude. Let's look at this logically." Before Michael could explain, Gennai interrupted him.

"You must hurry! Server is in grave need of your help and you must leave soon!" He disappeared from the platform as the platform sunk beneath the ground. "What a strange guy…" Luke said. "You can say that again." Kangamon laughed and bounced around Ally. "Okay, we've got a decision to make here guys." Jacob began. "Who wants to go to server?" He raised his hand and looked around at the circle.

"Okay, hear me out here Jacob." Michael began but was quickly interrupted. "Are you guys crazy? Gennai needs our help!" Jacob said, exasperated. "Here's the thing Jacob, who says that Gennai couldn't have been lying?" Linzi told the boy. "And, we've been around this place once, and we know where everything is. We won't have to worry about food or water here, and it's certainly safer than Server." Tiffany chimed in as Ally nodded. "Wait, so you guys are telling me that you're okay with staying here and never seeing your friends and family again?" Jacob asked, seriously confused. "Well, when you put it like that…" Luke trailed off.

"Well, I want to go." Chinchilmon chimed in. "Why is that buddy?" Michael asked his partner. "I want to be able to get stronger so when strong digimon do come to this island, I can beat them all away!" Chinchilmon began to fake-box with the air. "Well, I can't exactly stay without you here then now, can I? I'll go, why the heck not." Michael shrugged and grinned. "Well, if Michael's going, then I'll go too!" Ally gave him a hug and Kangamon nodded. "Hm… I'm sure it'll be quite the adventure." Luke nodded and Ravenmon cawed on his head. "I'm not being left alone here, so I'll go too!" Tiffany smiled and the group began cheering. "Alright guys, we're going to go to Server to help Gennai!" Jacob cheered.

"Oh man, it's really late! That fight took forever…" Michael yawned and noticed Ally starting to fall asleep. "Well, I guess it is time to get some shut-eye." Linzi nodded and sat down. "Let us digimon handle the watch tonight, okay? You guys deserve some sleep." Torpedomon told them as the digimon nodded. "Alright guys, but don't be afraid to wake us up if it gets too dark." Jacob teased Caninmon, who barked at him. "Vegiemon." Caninmon cheekily woofed. "That was completely accidental and you know it." Jacob stuck his tongue out at his partner. "Well, goodnight Kangamon." Ally hugged her partner and fell asleep. "Goodnight Azuremon…" Tiffany yawned and found a soft patch of grass to lay down in. "Goodnight all." The group bid each other goodnight and fell asleep as the digimon watched, guarding their partners, just as they should.

In the Morning

"Wake up guys! We've got to get going so we can be ready to go to Server!" Kangamon jumped around and began to wake the digidestined up. "Five more minutes mom…" Jacob muttered and fell back to sleep, but was woken up rather abruptly. "Teehee! Come on sleepyhead! Wake up!" Chinchilmon tickled Jacob's nose using his tail. "Yes, we must hurry. If what Gennai said was true, we do not have much time." Azuremon helped Tiffany and Ally up. "That's right. Gennai needs our help, and soon, so it seems." Torpedomon poked Linzi as she slowly stood up. "Be careful now, We can't risk anyone getting hurt now." Caninmon barked at Torpedomon. "I know, I know." She smiled playfully.

Ravenmon flew past the group as they started the trek down the impressive mountain. "Can you believe it? We've climbed this entire thing at least three times and been down it twice?" He called down to Luke. "I hope I never have to walk this path again." Luke laughed and looked over to Torpedomon and Linzi, who were lagging behind the group a little bit. "Are you girls okay?" He asked, slowly down to reach them. "Yeah, we're fine. It's just that we're both hungry and we haven't eaten in a while…" Linzi looked down at her partner, who was barely talking anymore. "That's right. We've got to stop for our digimon, so they can eat." Michael was carrying Chinchilmon. "All of our digimon are exhausted." Tiffany looked out from the mountain. "We're kinda near a lake, so if we can make it to there, we can go fishing." She pointed out. "That'll work just fine for me. You get one fish to me and I'll get the fish for the rest of you." Torpedomon muttered before collapsing on the ground.

"Well, you heard the 'mon! Let's get going." Ally began walking again, making sure to pick up Kangamon. "Torpedomon, you're really heavy." Linzi stuck her tongue out at her partner, who was asleep in Linzi's arms. "Well, no getting around that, I suppose." Jacob laughed and picked up Caninmon as well. "Go sleep buddy. When you wake up, we'll have food ready." He whispered in Caninmon's ear. "Aww…" Tiffany quietly muttered to herself while looking at Jacob. "He does have a heart." Azuremon chuckled and put his hand on Tiffany's shoulder, allowing her to guide him. "Alright guys, time to head out." The group kept moving down the mountain towards the large lake that they had seen.

"We're almost there guys, just a little farther." Ally ran to the water and put Kangamon down. "Where's the fishing pole?" She asked, eagerly. "We've got to make one, remember Ally?" Michael reminded her. "Oh, that's right." Not to be deterred, she grabbed a few nearby sticks and looked for something to tie them together with. "Does anyone have anything that we could tie this together with?" Ally asked and was met by various shakes of the head. "Well, grass will do just fine too." Linzi sat down with her and dropped Torpedomon softly. "Here, I'll help you weave some of this together." She smiled at the younger girl. "Awesome!" Ally cheered as they got to work.

"We need to go looking for some firewood." Jacob gestured to Michael and himself. "That's right. We all should look for some firewood." Tiffany agreed and dragged Luke away after he had put Ravenmon on the ground. "Azuremon, go to sleep, okay? Food will be here when you wake up." She told her partner, who promptly fell asleep. "Well, that didn't take long. Let's get going." Michael and Jacob walked off after their partners fell asleep on the ground. "Linzi, Ally, if things get too hectic, yell, and we'll come running." Michael told the two and they nodded. "Don't worry; with Dark Antylamon gone, the digimon should be mostly peaceful now." Linzi reassured Michael and Jacob. "That's right. Plus, the digimon will be here to help us if we need help." Ally chimed in, smiling at the sleeping digimon. "Something tells me that the digimon are going to be sleeping until they get some food in their system." Jacob laughed.

A little ways away from the lake

"Hey Luke, do you think it was the right thing to do, to send Michael and Jacob together? They have a tendency to argue and that's not good for either of them." Tiffany asked the taller boy. "Well, I know they have to get over themselves eventually, otherwise we'll never get home, so I'm sure they'll work it out eventually. Might as well be now." Luke reasoned. Tiffany nodded as well. "You've got a point there. They tend to be a bit ridiculous with their fights. I guess it comes from a different upbringing, I suppose." She threw a guess out there. "Yeah, but out here, upbringing doesn't matter a thing. It only matters how well you work together to survive, and they'll have to get over it eventually." Luke told her. "That's exactly right. Now, let's get to work getting wood for a fire." Tiffany reached down and began grabbing wood from the ground as Luke began to search the surrounding area.

"Michael, do you want to look over there?" Jacob asked him. "Yeah, that's all good with me." Michael readily agreed and began to search for wood in the clearing. "Alright, let's go then." Jacob began to grab wood off of the ground and collecting it. However, the task that would normally lead to some amount of chatter led to a uncomfortable silence. 'I wonder what he's thinking right now. Probably of some way to disagree with me again.' Jacob thought, glancing at Michael. 'He's probably thinking of new sarcastic remarks to throw at me later.' Michael met Jacob's gaze and the two boys huffed and looked away. 'Ugh, he gets on my nerves so much.' Both boys turned so that their backs were facing each other and continued on the job.

Back at the lake

"Linzi, do you think this will be enough for a fishing pole?" Ally held up the pole that she had woven. "That should probably do nicely. See if you can find any worms or bait in the grass or something like that." Linzi told her and Ally began searching. "Hm… This should do nicely!" She plucked a worm out of the grass and wrapped the grass string around the worm so that it would act as bait. "Here goes nothing!" She cast the line and began to wait for a bite as Torpedomon slowly woke up.

"Good afternoon, sleepyhead." Linzi rubbed Torpedomon's head. "Good afternoon! Have you caught any fish?" She got right to the point. "Not yet silly, we just started fishing." Ally laughed. "Oh, well, I'll watch for the first fish, then I'll go get some myself, okay?" Torpedomon asked. "Okay. Good to hear." She answered for Linzi. "Oh? Look!" Ally pointed to Linzi's pole, which had begun to shake. "I think it's a fish!" Linzi strained to pull it in. "Come on Linzi!" Ally grabbed onto Linzi's back and began to pull. "PUUUUULL!" Torpedomon cheered as she saw a large fish fly out of the water. "IT'S MINE!" Torpedomon jumped on it and had devoured the fish before Linzi and Ally could do anything.

"Well, that's one way of doing things." Ally laughed at the expression on Linzi's face. "Torpedomon, get in that water and you're in charge of catching fish now." Linzi told the seal digimon, who happily jumped in the water and quickly surfaced with several fish. "I can't look at you." Linzi told her partner, who swam around happily, occasionally sticking her head underwater and coming up with more fish. "Well, we've got to wait for the others to get back with the firewood." Ally looked to the woods. "They better hurry. I'm hungry." She glanced at Kangamon and the other sleeping digimon. "And I'm sure the other digimon are hungry too."

In the woods near the lake

"Hey Michael, we should probably head back now. We've got enough wood for a fire, plus whatever Tiffany and Luke got as well." Jacob told the slightly older boy. "Yeah, let's head back." Michael agreed, ready to be out of the awkward and tense atmosphere. The two walked in silence for a little bit, but Jacob quickly stopped and threw his arm out, stopping Michael from going any farther. "What the heck was that all about?" Michael glared at Jacob from his new spot on the ground from where Jacob's arm had knocked him. "Be quiet. Look ahead." Jacob hissed at the boy.

"Hmm… Where could they be?" Jegamon slowly walked out of the woods. "Oh no, it's Jegamon…" Michael's eyes widened and realized where they were. "Over here, you idiot." He pulled Jacob over to a cluster of bushes, where they hid from Jegamon. "I could've sworn I heard something from over this way…" Jegamon slowly turned and walked towards the boys. "Oh no…" Jacob whispered and Michael shushed him. "Be quiet. We don't want him finding us."

"Ah! In the bushes there! You can come out. It's simply I, Jegamon." Jegamon called out in their direction. "Well just great. He saw us." Michael sighed and the two stepped out of the bushes. "Oh! Digidestined! I heard that you were going to Server, right?" Jegamon asked the group. "Yeah, that's right. How did you hear that?" Jacob asked. "Digimon aren't very good secret keepers, if I do say so myself." Jegamon chuckled. "Well, that's news to us." Michael smiled and began to relax a bit. "Anyways, Server is very far away from here across the ocean, which means you'll be needing a raft to get there, right?" Jegamon asked.

"Well, I guess we never thought about that, but yes, we will." Jacob conceded and laughed awkwardly at the expression on Michael's face. "We didn't even know where Server was and we still agreed to go there." He deadpanned and looked ready to smack Jacob. "We've got to help Gennai. It's worth it." Jacob tried to reason, but Michael was having none of it. "You know, maybe if you used your head sometimes, Jacob, then you'd be able to see stuff like this happening and we wouldn't have to worry about it!" He yelled as Jacob's face turned red. "If we had talked it over, we never would've gotten anything decided because people like YOU can't agree to anything that I say, even if I'm right!" The two got in each other's faces and Jegamon sighed.

Jegamon slowly walked over to the two and picked both of them up, not giving them the opportunity to get into a fistfight. "Do you two do this a lot?" He asked. "Yes, quite frequently, actually." The two took a short break from their argument to answer Jegamon's question. Jegamon sighed and continued to walk towards the general area of their camp, hollering out for the other digidestined.

At the lake

"Hey guys!" Linzi called out to Tiffany and Luke, who were carrying enough wood for a fire. "We've caught plenty of fish!" Ally smiled as Torpedomon swam in the lake. "Well, that's great!" Luke smiled and sat down, waking Ravenmon. "Ravenmon, when we get the fire set up, we're going to need you to start the fire, okay?" He asked his partner. "Yep yep! That's fine by me." Ravenmon waited patiently as Tiffany quickly built a small teepee with the sticks and wood and then beckoned for Ravenmon to start the fire. "Hiya!" He obliged and the fire was burning a second later, allowing Linzi and Ally to begin cooking the fish.

The digimon were quickly woken by the smell of cooking fish. "Oooh, yay!" Caninmon bounded over to the pile of cooked fish, ready to start wolfing them down but was stopped by Tiffany. "Not quite yet, big guy. We need to have everyone back before we can eat." She explained as Caninmon pouted. "Fiiiiine…" Kangamon bounced over to Ally and sat down, watching the fire. "Don't look so glum, Chinchilmon. It'll be ready soon enough." Luke began to tickle the digimon, making him laugh and squirm. "Wait, what is that noise?" Azuremon stood up and looked towards the forest. "What is it Azuremon?" Tiffany asked her partner. "There's another digimon, along with Michael and Jacob." He answered, and the five digimon that were out of the water prepared to attack whatever was in the woods, while Torpedomon slowly climbed out of the water, stuffed with fish, but ready to fight.


	8. Unfinished Business!

Disclaimer! I own only my OCs and potentially a few of the OC digimon. Everything else is owned by Saban Brands.

Hope you all enjoy! Note, I do not have a Beta, so any mistakes are yours truly!

Chapter 8

"Look over there!" Tiffany directed the group's gaze to the forest, where loud crunching noises could be heard. "What is it, I wonder…" Azuremon tried to sense the other creature that was with Michael and Jacob. "Oh wait, I think that's the sound of an argument…" Ally facepalmed and sighed. "Well, you knew it would happen." Linzi told the younger girl and laughed a bit. "That's true. They always argue all the time, even for no reason." Kangamon hopped around and stood by the lake, watching the water. "Kangamon, if it's an enemy digimon, you must be ready." Ravenmon flew near her and flapped his wings, creating a small gust of wind. "I hear you, I hear you." She jumped back over and stood next to Ally.

"PUT ME DOWN!" Michael yelled at Jegamon as the three stepped into the clearing. "WHAT HE SAID! PUT US DOWN!" Jacob yelled as well and Jegamon sighed and looked at the other digidestined. "They have been like this the entire time that I've been walking over here." Jegamon dropped the two boys, who promptly glared at Jegamon. "You could've at least given us some prior warning." Michael stood up, brushing the dirt off of his back and walked over to the group. "So, do you mind explaining why Jegamon carried you two here?" Luke frowned at the two. "Well, we may have gotten into another argument again." Jacob laughed nervously and stared at the ground. "There's no may about it. You were going to punch each other if I did not intervene." Jegamon laughed quietly.

"Really guys? We've got to work together to get to Server!" Torpedomon stepped in between the two boys. "Ah, so you are going to Server." Jegamon quickly spoke before Tiffany could begin to rant at the boys. "Korokomon, Vegiemon, and I would like to help build your raft, if you allow us." The other two digimon stepped into the clearing as well and waved. "Hi guys!" Vegiemon smiled at Jacob and Caninmon as Korokomon tilted its head to the side at seeing Luke and Ravenmon. "Well then! I guess we'd better head to the beach to get started." Chinchilmon piped up and started dragging Michael down the mountain. "We'll follow behind you." Korokomon chirped. "Alrighty! Let's get started then." Kangamon jumped away as Ally ran behind her.

At the base of the mountain

"There's the beach everyone!" Michael yelled as Caninmon barked excitedly. "Water!" Torpedomon cheered and doubled her speed. "Hold up Torpedomon! Don't go too far ahead!" Linzi yelled and sped up to catch her partner. "Michael! Slow down, I can only run so fast!" Michael began to laugh and picked up Chinchilmon and started running down to the beach. Ally started behind the group, but soon, everyone made it to the beach where Linzi had started her journey in the digital world. "Hey Luke, this is the beach where I washed up, right?" She confirmed. "That's right. This is where Ravenmon and I found you." Luke nodded. "I wonder if that Octomon is still near here." Torpedomon wondered and looked in the water. "The water looks just fine if you ask me." Azuremon did a quick surveillance check. "There shouldn't be anything to worry about." Jacob reassured Linzi. "Good. That Octomon was a nasty piece of work." Linzi smiled and looked into the jungle. "Well, let's get to work!" She cried.

"HORN BLASTER!" A short while later, Torpedomon and Jegamon were working together to cut down the jungle trees. "CLUB SWING!" Jegamon knocked down several trees at once, making the job much easier. "There we go!" Linzi cheered as she watched the two digimon work together to take down the trees that they needed for the raft. "Watch out Vegiemon!" Jacob called out to the digimon as trees fell all around him. "Don't worry, I got it!" He grabbed several fallen trees with his whips and hefted them up to carry them over to the beach again. "Thanks for your help!" Tiffany smiled at the digimon. "It's no problem at all. COMPOST BOMBER!" Vegiemon used his attack to create the sticky pink substance again. "That'll work quite well to keep the raft together." Azuremon noted and picked the goop up. "Bleck!" Kangamon exclaimed as she jumped on some of the goop that was holding the logs together. "That looks really gross Kangamon." Chinchilmon laughed as he dried the goop using his tail. "It is really gross." Azuremon noted as he used his attack to remove some of the imperfections on the tree.

"FIRE SPRAY!" Ravenmon attacked one of the trees to remove the finer imperfections on it. "And throw!" Luke threw water on the fire to make it die down. "Great teamwork!" Ally smiled from where she stood on the sidelines, not really having a job. "Ally, watch out!" Michael called out to the girl as a tree fell near her. "Don't worry! I'm fine!" She yelled back. "Sheesh, he needs to relax a little bit when it comes to her, doesn't he?" Tiffany whispered to Luke. "She's all that he's got. It's understandable." He whispered back. "Again!" Jacob called to Caninmon as the duo began to roll the logs into place. "Oh! I know what I can do!" Ally ran off momentarily.

"Where's she going?" Linzi asked. "I have no clue." Kangamon laughed before continuing to jump on the goop. "Well, she'll be back soon." Chinchilmon kept on with his job. "That's right. She's a fine fighter by herself." Azuremon noted and went back to work.

"HEY GUYS! I thought I'd go ahead and start weaving the grass together so we can make the rope faster." Ally smiled and sat down to weave. "Korokoooo String!" Korokomon cried out quickly, firing a rope of string out of its mouth and onto the ground. "Or that works too." Ally deadpanned and tossed the grass behind her in exaggeration. "Ugh!" She sighed as Kangamon hopped up to her, finished with her job. "Don't worry Ally, I'm sure Michael won't make you sit out every time." Kangamon nuzzled her leg. "That's right! Michael never says no to extra help." Chinchilmon hopped up, the final logs being knocked down now.

"Is anyone here good with knots?" Tiffany asked the group. "Um… Not particularly…" Michael shook his head. "I don't have opposable thumbs!" Kangamon laughed and Chinchilmon nodded. "I can try, I suppose." Luke took the rope and proceeded to tie the logs together so they wouldn't drift apart during the journey to Server. "Alright, I guess that works!" Ravenmon landed on the raft and found that it was sturdy. "Hold up now, we can't leave yet. We don't have food." Michael reminded the group as they were about to jump on. "Oh, I guess you're right there." Jacob started to laugh. "We'll help you get some food, do not worry." Jegamon assured the group. "Well, that's awesome!" Torpedomon barked as the group headed back into the forest to search for food.

"Here! Catch this, Ally!" Michael called down to the girl as he threw down some banana-looking fruits. "I got them!" Ally caught the fruits with ease as Kangamon looked on. "Wonderful!" Chinchilmon climbed down from another tree holding a strange purple fruit in his hand while he hung on from the tree with his tail. He nimbly climbed down from the tree while still holding the fruit. "Remind me again to get you to teach me how to do that." Ally's jaw dropped open as she smiled at the digimon. "Of course! I'll be happy to teach you!" Chinchilmon laughed as Azuremon walked up. "Chinchilmon, she'd need a tail, which she clearly lacks." He chuckled quietly. "Hey now, he can always dream!" Tiffany chided her partner from the tree that she was sitting in nearby.

"Alright, how many days worth of food is this?" Ravenmon cawed and Jacob quickly did the math. "I think this is at least a week of food." He replied and Luke agreed. "If we need to get more food, we can always fish for some and have you cook it up, Ravenmon." Torpedomon chimed in. "That's right! It's nice to have someone who can breathe fire." Kangamon giggled. "Yep yep! We never have to worry about running out of food with you and the ocean." Chinchilmon agreed and ran around Michael in a circle. "Hey there buddy, calm down there." Michael began to laugh as Chinchilmon tickled the back of his leg. "You need to loosen up! You're too tense." He giggled madly as he continued to tickle Michael.

"Ack!" Michael fell to the ground as Chinchilmon knocked him over by the force of his tickling. "How silly are you?" Caninmon barked at Chinchilmon as Azuremon helped Michael up. "I wanted to make him relax a bit." Chinchilmon scratched at an itch on his face. "Well, I guess that worked." Michael began laughing and his shoulders finally dropped to show that he was relaxed.

"Woah, he actually relaxed…" Ally whispered to Luke. "That's pretty rare, isn't it?" Luke whispered back. "From when I've seen him, he's never been relaxed." Ravenmon landed on Luke's head and startled Ally, causing her to fall backwards. Michael turned towards the girl and helped her up. "Be careful now Ally. I don't want you getting hurt." He told her, quickly returning to the tense mood that he had been in earlier. "You tried, buddy. You tried." Kangamon patted Chinchilmon on the head. "I'll just have to try harder next time." Chinchilmon giggled and began gathering more food again.

A short distance away, Jacob and Caninmon were gathering more fruit. "Hey Caninmon, could you grab this bundle of fruit for me?" Jacob threw down a cluster of strange purple fruit. "Sure thing!" Caninmon caught the fruit in his mouth and ran it over to the pile of food that was slowly growing. "Thanks you two! That's more than enough for at least eight days." Linzi smiled and looked in the direction of the raft. "I know. It's hard to leave this place where this whole thing started, isn't it?" Torpedomon nuzzled her leg. "Yeah… There are a lot of memories here, both good and bad ones, I guess." Linzi sat down to pet Torpedomon. "You saved me from Octomon, and helped beat that evil Dark Antylamon too…" She gave her digimon a hug as Torpedomon blushed.

"When do we want to leave?" Luke asked Jacob. "I don't know, let's take a vote, I guess." Jacob looked surprised that Luke went to him for the decision. "Do we want to leave now guys?" He turned to the rest of the group. "I say we should. That way we get as much time on the water before nighttime and we can keep all of our food." Michael surprisingly agreed. "I agree with Michael. We want to go now so we can help Gennai as soon as possible as well." Tiffany chimed in, getting Azuremon to nod. "Gennai should be our number one priority right now." Azuremon stated, and the digimon agreed. "Gennai seems to be another human in this world, and if there are other humans, there have got to be ways to get back home!" Ally smiled and caused Luke and Linzi to agree with her. "I am starting to miss home a bit…" Linzi stood up again and joined the group. "Any way to get back home is good by me." Luke agreed.

"Well, then it's settled! We're going to Server right now!" Jacob yelled and looked at Jegamon, Vegiemon, and Korokomon. "We must stay here to help the island recover." Jegamon informed him. "However, we'll be more than happy to get you started off on your journey!" Vegiemon chimed in and began ushering the group to the beach. "Don't forget your food!" Korokomon helped the digimon grab the supplies. "Digidestined… You changed this island forever. We shall never forget you here." Jegamon smiled at Michael, who grabbed the last of the fruit and headed back to the beach.

"Everyone on board!" Torpedomon jumped on the raft and started to load the food on board. "There we go! Teamwork makes this go so much faster." Chinchilmon and Kangamon were passing the food between the two of them and up to Michael, who would give it to Ally, who would then put it on the boat for Tiffany to sort. "Purple fruit go over here, and yellow fruit go over here, Torpedomon." Azuremon fixed the sorting as Torpedomon accidentally speared one of the fruit with her horn. "Dork." Linzi giggled at the yellow banana-looking fruit on her partner's horn. "What?" Torpedomon asked, having not seen the fruit on her face. "Oh, nothing." Linzi giggled harder, causing Torpedomon to look in the water at her reflection. "EEP! FRUIT ON MY FACE!" Torpedomon fell into the water and splashed Azuremon, who was shocked by the coldness of the water.

"Be careful now, everyone." Korokomon told the digidestined as they all got into the raft. "We will, don't worry too much about us." Jacob smiled. "We have good reason to be worried though. Server is a very dangerous continent with many powerful digimon." Vegiemon frowned and seemed to reassure himself. "You defeated Dark Antylamon though, so anything is possible. Be safe." He finished, giving them a confident look. "That's right! With our digimon, we can do anything." Luke may have sounded confident, but he looked nervous. "It's perfectly okay to be apprehensive, but if you want to get home, this is the only way to do so, from what I know." Ally teased him. "That's right. We'll send you off using our attacks now, digidestined. Be brave, be strong, and remember what brings you together as the digidestined." Jegamon nodded and prepared himself.

"CLUB SWING!" "COMPOST BOMBERS!" "KOROKO DRILLS!" Jegamon hit the raft with his club, sending it into the air and farther out into the water. Vegiemon's attacks gave it the extra push it needed to escape the tug of the shore, while Korokomon's drills sent it to the west, the direction that the raft needed to get to Server. "GOODBYE!" "GOOD LUCK!" "BE CAREFUL!" "KEEP THE ISLAND SAFE FOR US!" The voices overlapped each other as the digidestined slowly lost sight of the island. "I am not worried about them. I know that they will be just fine, as long as they stay together, and stop the fighting." Jegamon wisely stated before turning away from the ocean. "Yep! They must be careful of the powerful digimon though. Some of them are even stronger than Dark Antylamon, and you know that." Korokomon argued. "If they stay together, they can overcome anything. But the stronger digimon worry me, because there are many who are capable of splitting the group apart very easily…" Vegiemon sighed and headed back into the forest while Korokomon stayed behind, watching the horizon. "Jegamon, if you need me, I'll be in my burrow here." He told Jegamon as the digimon began walking towards the mountain. He didn't reply.

Out on the Digital Ocean

"We haven't even been out here five minutes and you're already seasick?" Michael asked incredulously as he watched Ally lose her lunch. "I can't help it; I've never been good on boats." She defended herself as Kangamon helped her clean up. "It's all good, but this is going to be a looooooong trip." Michael sighed and looked to the west to see if he could see anything. "Do you see anything?" Tiffany asked him. "No, not really." He replied. "There won't be anything for a while. Server is far away from here." Chinchilmon told him. "I know, but I still want to keep an eye out." Michael put Chinchilmon on his shoulder so the digimon wouldn't fall off the boat.

"Be careful guys. The waves are a little rough today, it seems." Torpedomon warned the group. "Get to the center of the boat. The waves could knock you off." Luke told Ravenmon as Linzi chided Torpedomon for almost falling off of the boat. "Everyone in the middle!" Jacob ordered, watching the waves become larger. "Quickly." He ushered Caninmon to the center. "Tiffany, you go to the center. I have better balance than you do." Azuremon requested of his partner. "Alright, but you be careful too." She consented.

"HOLD ON TIGHT!" Michael yelled as a particularly large wave approached the boat. "What is with the size of these waves?" Torpedomon wondered as she braced for the impact of the wave. "WAIT! LOOK IN THE WAVE!" Linzi yelled right as the wave doubled in size. "There are eyes!" Ally yelled as the wave made impact. The boat splintered into pieces, sending the digidestined into the water with their partners.

"GRAB ONTO THE PIECES OF WOOD!" Tiffany yelled to the other digidestined as they quickly did so, stopping them and their digimon from sinking. "Keep it together Linzi, you can do this…" Linzi slowly began to panic as she held onto the board. "Linzi, relax. We're in the Digital Ocean. Most digimon here are peaceful digimon." Torpedomon tried to calm her down. "Torpedomon, the Octomon…" Linzi reminded her. "Oh…" Torpedomon realized what was causing the panic attack. "Linzi, I've got you. I'll protect you, I promise." She nuzzled her partner who was now sitting on the board.

"HEY GUYS! I HATE TO INTERRUPT YOUR LOVE FEST, BUT THE WAVE WANTS A SECOND ROUND!" Jacob yelled to Linzi and Torpedomon. "Hop on Torpedomon, we're going surfing!" Linzi shakily stood up on her board as Torpedomon wrapped her flippers around the board. "LINZI? WHAT ARE YOU DOING?' Tiffany yelled at the two right before the wave hit again. "I'M GETTING TO THE BOTTOM OF THIS RIGHT NOW!" Linzi yelled back as the wave hit. "Let's go Torpedomon!" She began to ride the wave to get as close to the eyes as she could. "EEP!" Torpedomon shrieked as the eyes appeared again and stared right at Linzi.

Linzi recognized the eyes before they recognized her, and she gasped. "IT'S YOU!" She yelled as the digimon shrieked. "OCTOMOOOOOOOOOOOOOON!" Torpedomon immediately reacted and fired into the wave. "HORN BLASTER!" The attack hit Octomon dead on and caused the wave to collapse, revealing the hungry digimon. "It's the Octomon!" Ally yelled, suddenly fearing for her life. "Don't worry, Torpedomon has taken care of it before, so there's no doubt that she'll be fine now." Kangamon tried to reassure her. "That's right, and if she doesn't, then I'll help her out." Ravenmon flew overhead towards the two.

"TORPEDOMON! WATCH OUT!" Linzi alerted her partner to a pod of nearby Dolphmon. "Wait, do they have dark strips on them?" Torpedomon asked. "It looks like they do!" Ravenmon flew overhead. "OH YAY! Ravenmon, do you think you could get the dark strips off of their backs?" Linzi asked the digimon as Luke swam over to the two. "Definitely! It's time to digivolve, Ravenmon!" Luke yelled as his digivice began glowing. "You too Torpedomon." Linzi told her partner while her digivice began to glow as well.

"RAVENMON DIGIGOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO TOUCAMON!" Toucamon swooped down and picked up Luke and Linzi before Octomon could get to them. "HIYA! FIERY WING!" Toucamon attacked the Dolphmon, destroying some of the dark strips, but drawing the attention of those who still had the dark strips to him. "TORPEDOMON DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO DOLFINOMON!"

Dolfinomon began to swim in circles around Octomon, creating a miniature whirlpool with it at the center. "AQUA BLASTER!" She began to fire attacks into the whirlpool, receiving pained screeches from the Octomon. "FIERY WING!" Toucamon attacked the dark strips on the Dolphmon again, destroying another portion of the dark strips. "HEY FREED DOLPHMON! MIND HELPING ME GET RID OF THIS OCTOMON?" Dolfinomon called out to the Dolphmon that were dark-stripless. "Why, of course! Octomon is a harm to our oceans!" One of the Dolphmon that seemed like the leader replied and brought the pod over to Dolfinomon. "Use your strongest attack on the whirlpool to get that Octomon far away!" Dolfinomon commanded and the Dolphmon leader relayed the order.

"EEEEEEEE! PULSE BLAST!" The Dolphmon leader called out and ten other attacks flew into the whirlpool, causing more pained screams from the Octomon. "Last one is the charm! AQUA BLASTER!" Dolfinomon let out another attack and watched as it entered the whirlpool and struck Octomon again. "OCTOOOOOOOMOOOOOOOOOOON!" The digimon destroyed the whirlpool and turned to face Dolfinomon with hatred in its eyes. "OCTOMON!" It threw its sword at Dolfinomon, but was shocked when the sword disappeared halfway there. "OCTO! OCTOMON!" The digimon looked down in panic as it was quickly turned into data. "OCTOOOOOMPH!" The digimon was vanquished into data particles, which flew away into the ocean.

"FIERY WING!" Toucamon finally struck down the last of the dark strips. "Oh my! Thank you so much for helping my pod!" The Dolphmon leader told the two champion-level digimon. "It's no problem at all!" Dolfinomon chirped away as the Dolphmon pod swam around her. "Is there way that we could ever repay you?" He asked. "Well, the wave did destroy our raft…" Linzi called down to the swimming digimon. "Where are you going? We'll be glad to take you! We Dolphmon pride ourselves on our speed in the water!" One of the other Dolphmon piped up. "Well, we're going to Server, if that's not too far." Toucamon told the digimon as he lowered himself to be hovering just over the ocean. "Server? That's not too far from here at all! We'll be glad to take you. DOLPHMON! RETRIEVE THE DIGIMON AND THEIR PARTNERS!" The Dolphmon leader ordered and the Dolphmon split up to in pairs to carry both the digimon and their human partner.

Many hours later

"Well, thanks guys! This is a lot faster than that old raft was." Michael looked over to see Chinchilmon dipping his tail in and out of the water. "Careful Chinchilmon! You don't want to fall in now, do you?" Ally asked the digimon as he almost did so. "Eep! You're right, I'll keep my hands and feet on top of the Dolphmon at all times." Chinchilmon squeaked as Kangamon laughed. "Tiffany, are you doing alright?" Azuremon checked his partner to see if she was still with them. "I'm fine, only wondering why the Dolphmon were still under the control of the Dark Strips even with Dark Antylamon defeated and destroyed." She told him, causing him to think as well. "My best guess is that their powers were not directly connected to Dark Antylamon, rather to the island that we were on itself." He speculated, getting a nod from Tiffany. "That's my best guess as well, but we're far away from that island now. We can't dwell on the past anymore." She smiled and leaned over to ruffle Azuremon's head, only just missing as Azuremon leaned back as well. "Ha. You didn't get me." He stuck his tongue out at her and she giggled.

"Ravenmon, you doing alright?" Luke asked his partner, who was looking green. "Whoever thought going full speed was a good idea was clearly mistaken…" The digimon looked ready to faint. "Hey now, we've got to get there as soon as possible, and this is the best way." Jacob laughed a bit and Caninmon agreed. "That's right. I may not enjoy this speed, but Gennai is counting on us for some reason or another." He woofed softly. "We can't let him down now, after we've gone through all of this trouble and after saving the Dolphmon from the dark strips." Linzi smiled down at Dolfinomon, whom she was riding on. "You know, we're extremely lucky that the Dolphmon are keeping me with them. Otherwise, we would've fallen back a long time ago." Dolfinomon told her partner. "Really? I know that Dolphmon are the fastest swimming digimon, but I thought that you'd be able to keep up a little bit." Linzi was surprised. "Oh no, Dolphmon are incredibly fast. There's no way that I'd be able to keep up with them." Dolfinomon assured her.

Not long after that

"Hey everyone! Look over there! It's Server!" The leader of the Dolphmon alerted the group to the shoreline. "Really? It's been so little time though!" Tiffany exclaimed, very surprised. "Never underestimate how fast the Dolphmon are." Dolfinomon sagely noted. "We'll just drop you off here and then go back to the ocean, if that's okay with you." The Dolphmon leader checked with the group. "Oh yeah, absolutely! You guys have been amazing to us, and this is as far as we should stretch your hospitality." Ally answered for the group as Kangamon nodded. "You've really been too kind to us." She smiled and patted the Dolphmon she was riding on. "It's no problem! You saved our lives!" The Dolphmon that Azuremon was riding on chimed in.

"Well, here we are everyone! We've made landfall on Server!" Michael announced as they got off of the Dolphmon. "Goodbye Dolphmon! Thank you for everything!" Chinchilmon and Ravenmon cried to the digimon as they left the shore to head back out to the deep ocean. "Okay, so where do we go from here?" Luke brought their attention back to the beach. "We're on a beach, but we have no idea where this Gennai person is, or where those Crests and Tags things are." He pointed out, getting a general murmur from the group.

"Wait! Look at the sand! There's something pushing up from underneath it!" Linzi noticed the same strange platform that had appeared right after Dark Antylamon's defeat. "Is it Gennai again?" Azuremon wondered, and looked at Tiffany. "Beats me, I have no clue how anything in this place works." She shrugged, eliciting a laugh from Torpedomon, who had dedigivolved from Dolfinomon. "I'd be inclined to agree, but I was raised here. It must be Gennai." Azuremon concluded and waiting for the platform to come to life.

"Hello digidestined! It is I, Gennai!" The hologram appeared again. "Hi there Gennai. We made it to Server, so where do we go now?" Jacob quickly asked. "So impatient. Let me catch my breath for a second." Gennai chided him and the group sighed. "Stop whining. Look behind you. There, is a tunnel that leads to my house. Hurry, as Etemon is always watching the shorelines for new digimon." Gennai's declaration made Michael look behind the group. "Oh, wow, there actually is a tunnel…" His jaw dropped. "Go on now, I'll be waiting for you on the other side!" Gennai tried to usher them along, and his hologram disappeared, causing the platform to sink back into the sand.

"Well, the tunnel is right there. If anybody's got any second thoughts, now would be a great time to get them out in the air." Jacob chuckled a bit. "Well, we've got nothing to lose." Ally smiled again, putting on a cheerful face for the group. "It'll be exciting! Maybe our digimon will be able to digivolve again, just like Gennai said!" Caninmon barked and his tail started to wag. "Well, I guess if nobody's got any qualms against it, what are we waiting for?" Tiffany asked, and the group began the slow descent into the tunnel, not sure what to expect when they emerged on the other side.


	9. The Tags?

Disclaimer! I own only my OCs and potentially a few of the OC digimon. Everything else is owned by Saban Brands.

Hope you all enjoy!

Chapter 9

"Can you guys see that light down there?" Jacob asked the group. "You bet I can. It's faint, but it's definitely there. We should try to hurry up so we can actually see." Caninmon agreed. "Be careful where you step though. There are a lot of rocks that you can trip over." Luke caught Ally and Tiffany stopped Azuremon while she felt out a safe path with her feet. "Slow and steady is the key here." Kangamon slowly made her way through the tunnel, guiding Ally to the best of her ability. "It's almost too dark in here to see where everyone is." Torpedomon chimed in. "We've got to keep moving though. We're almost at the exit." Linzi noted and kept moving forward, using the walls of the tunnel as her guide.

"Guys, just use the walls of the tunnel. It's much faster, and it seems to be clear to the sides." She let them know her strategy. "She's right. Come on guys, time to pick up the pace." Michael began to speed up while using the side of the cave as a guide for his feet. "We'll be out of this wet, dark place in no time!" Ally and Ravenmon cheered. "Be careful if you decide to fly though, Ravenmon. Try not to run into the wall." Luke laughed as Ravenmon managed to just do that. "Watch out Chinchilmon. Don't run into me now." Michael picked Chinchilmon up and sat him on Michael's shoulder. "That'll work better." Chinchilmon laughed.

"Look! It's a…. house?" Tiffany was very confused. "Well, I would hope that Gennai lives in a house. What would he live in otherwise?" Azuremon laughed a little bit. The group slowly approached the exit of the cave as the light grew brighter. "Careful guys, we don't know what could be out here." Jacob was the cautious one this time. "Jacob's right. We've got to be careful. There's no telling what Gennai's real appearance is." Caninmon woofed softly as the group began to exit out into the sunlight again.

"Wait, are we under a lake?" Torpedomon glanced up and saw the floating water. "We are most definitely under a lake." Linzi confirmed. "Oh sheesh, I'm not supposed to be under lakes…" Ravenmon looked down at the ground and then back up at the water. "Don't worry about it too much Ravenmon. Nothing really makes sense here anyways." Luke comforted the bird digimon. "That's right. If what Gennai told us was right and this is his house, then he's bound to have some answers for us. Come on Kangamon!" Ally yelled and began to run to the house. "ALLY WAIT!" Michael ran after her, Chinchilmon still hanging onto Michael's shoulder for dear life as Tiffany sighed. "Well, we've got to go after them eventually." Azuremon told her as the group all began to run to the house. "I know, but I wish she wouldn't be so reckless sometimes. That drags Michael into it." Tiffany replied.

The Digidestined quickly made it down to the house at the bottom of the lake, despite various warnings from Jacob and Tiffany to slow down. "Guys, you need to slow down. You're either going to fall and hurt yourself, or you'll run into an evil digimon again!" Tiffany yelled at Michael, Linzi, and Ally. "Fine, we'll wait at the door to the house for you." Linzi yelled back up. "They're already at the door…" Azuremon deadpanned. "Yeah, that's kinda the point of why they said that." Jacob explained to Azuremon. "Humans are strange." Caninmon barked and began to run down the hill as well. "CANINMON, WAIT UP!" Jacob laughed a little bit at the expression on Tiffany's face as he started to run down the hill after Caninmon. She sighed and turned to Azuremon, who had a slight grin on his face. "Come on." Tiffany broke into giggles and ran down the hill while Azuremon chased her.

Tiffany panted as she reached the bottom of the hill, leaving Luke slowly walking down while Ravenmon flew over his head. "Luke! It's all safe down here, silly." Ally yelled at the boy. "I know! I'm just taking my time, because I don't want to fall." Luke looked back up the hill. "Wait, the door is gone!" He exclaimed. "Could a digimon maybe have closed it off?" He wondered out loud. "I would've sensed it." Azuremon looked as well. "Hm, it really is closed off." Michael began running possible theories through his head.

"You're darn right it's closed off! I can't have just anybody entering my humble abode. I'm already second-guessing letting you hoodlums in here!" The digidestined turned to the door quickly and saw a wizened old man standing there. "Wait, that image…" Kangamon started. "Was actually you?" Chinchilmon finished her statement. "Yes, and if you have a problem with that, take it up with the Digimon Mother and her Council." Caninmon visibly flinched. "There's no need for that, Gennai." Ally saw the digimon's terrified faces and rose to the defense of her friends. "There's no need for anybody to go see the Digimon Mother, whoever she is." "Of course not. We need you for completely different matters!" Gennai agreed. "Now, come inside and stop letting the sand in." He glared at Ravenmon, who landed right in front of him. Ravenmon leaned back, away from the glare and let Luke go in first.

"Wow Gennai, this is your home?" Michael gazed around in awe at the well furnished home. "It's so well decorated!" Ally complimented Gennai. "Thank you, thank you. Some of my digimon friends assisted me in designing it." Gennai explained. "Now, come into this room. Then, I shall hopefully be able to answer some of your questions that you have for me." He entered into a Japanese-style dining room, with a low-sitting table and mats to sit on. "Don't forget to take off your shoes." He turned to the group. "Come, sit down and eat a bit. You look like you could use some food."

"This is the best thing that I have ever tasted…" Luke moaned into a roll. "I have never had such good meat in my life…" Tiffany trailed off as she looked at her empty plate. "Michael, you need to eat. Come on now." Ally prodded Michael to eat a bit. "Fine, I'll have some too." He took a bite of the meat and his eyes widened. "Oh my gosh… That is so good…" He began eating ravenously. "That's got to be a first, judging by how skinny he is." Gennai watched as the boy devoured the meat he had on his plate, as well as the other food on it. "You've got that right." Linzi confirmed for him.

"Wonderful! Now that you are all satisfied, let's see if I can answer some questions about this place, and why you were brought here." Gennai spoke after the group was clearly finished eating. They were beginning to fall into that post-food nap, but when Gennai spoke, they all shook themselves awake. "Okay, I've got one big question. Why are we here? There's literally nothing that connects any of us, except for Ally and Michael." Jacob asked the big question. "I shall get to the question second. First, the thing that connects you may not be noticeable to the naked eye, but for anybody who is perceptive and empathetic, it is very obvious." Gennai managed to confuse the digidestined. "Yeah, we've all got digimon, but what else is there?" Tiffany asked. "Look inside of your hearts. The answer lies there, and that's all I'm talking about on that subject today. The main issue at hand is why you are all here." Gennai brushed off the question.

"You are not the only digidestined in the digital world." Gennai dropped the bombshell. "Wait, there are others just like us here?" Ally asked, her eyes shining with hope. "Yes. However, these digidestined are from Japan, and are much, much younger than you. They were called here long before they should have been, due to the magnitude of evil digimon being created every day in the digital world." Gennai sighed. "Oh no… We have to help them then." Linzi interrupted. "Exactly. That is why you have been called here. Due to their youth, they have gotten into precarious situations where an older group of digidestined would've been able to avoid the situation entirely." Gennai waved his hand and a bubble appeared. "Watch as the Japanese digidestined ran into Andromon, and then later Devimon." Azuremon's jaw dropped again. "They met Andromon and Devimon? One of the more powerful good digimon and an incredibly evil digimon?" He asked, incredulously. "They did, and now, this is what occurred during the visit." Gennai turned their attention to the bubble.

Tiffany covered her eyes as the group of Japanese digidestined split up. "Don't they know never to split up? It only causes trouble!" She squeaked as Tai, Sora, Joe, and their digimon approached Andromon, who was trapped underneath a pile of gears. "What is that black thing on Andromon's leg?" Luke asked Ravenmon. "I don't know, but it looks like a tool of that evil Devimon's…" He trailed off. Michael sighed as they pulled Andromon out of the wreckage. "Did none of them see that the dark gear thing went into his leg?" He asked, and Chinchilmon shrugged. "Their powers of observation could use some work." Jacob admitted, chuckling a little bit.

However, the scene took a turn for the worse when Andromon stood up and began attacking the Japanese digidestined, forcing them to run. "Be careful guys!" Kangamon called out, even though they couldn't hear her. "Why aren't their digimon digivolving? They're in serious danger." Michael asked Gennai. "Not all of their digimon had the power to digivolve at this time. Only Gabumon, Agumon, and Biyomon could digivolve, and Biyomon had just recently digivolved to protect them from Meramon." Michael sighed and looked back at the screen just in time to watch Matt and TK be saved by a quickly digivolving Gabumon, who digivolved into Garurumon. "Hey, Chinchilmon, that looks a lot like Trileptimon." Ravenmon pointed out. "Garurumon and Trileptimon are related to each other in their digital tree, meaning they look very similar due to their data." Gennai explained.

"Garurumon isn't going to be strong enough to take down Andromon gone wrong. He's only a champion and Andromon is an ultimate level digimon!" Torpedomon looked away from the orb so she wouldn't have to watch the fight. "Wait, now Agumon's digivolving too?" Caninmon asked and Azuremon nodded. "Greymon is a powerful digimon that with Garurumon's help, could possibly take out Andromon, given the right tools." Azuremon explained. "But they aren't winning! In fact, they're getting decimated by him. How are they going to make it out of this?" Linzi asked Gennai, who simply pointed at the screen.

It currently showed a short boy who was typing rapidly away at a computer while his digivice glowed. "Wait, is that Tentomon digivolving?" Ravenmon asked. "Surely with three champions, they'll be able to take an ultimate digimon." Luke let the thought play out in the air. "I would think so too, but it appears that Andromon is still more powerful!" Michael glanced at Andromon's leg, and noticed the sparking right as Izzy did, and. with only poor technician skills, was forced to think about what it could be, and missed Izzy telling Kabuterimon to attack Andromon's leg. The group watched in shock as one of the black gear things flew out of Andromon's body and shattered into digital data dust.

"Now, onwards to their encounters with Devimon." Gennai waved the bubble again as Devimon appeared on the screen, scaring Kangamon. "He can't hurt you here, Kangamon." Ally gave her partner a hug. The duo turned back to the bubble, watching as Devimon defeated all of their digimon, not once, not twice, but three times, and then lost control of himself and was strengthened by the massive amounts of dark gears. "He's absolutely huge! There's no way that they can beat him now…" Azuremon felt a growing sense of despair. "No! Digimon, watch out!" The digimon in the bubble were attacked again by massive Devimon. Those outside of the battle winced in pain as they saw Devimon grab Patamon. "Be safe, Patamon…" Ally glanced at the sky and saw that it was quickly becoming nighttime.

"Wait, look! Patamon is digivolving!" Chinchilmon dragged Michael's attention back to itself. "Angemon… The powerful angel digimon that guards over the realm's goodness!" Torpedomon's eyes widened. "Oh my, is he a strong digimon?" Linzi asked her partner. "You betcha! He's one of the most powerful champion digimon that I've heard about." Torpedomon answered, smiling. "So that's how they got out of that situation?" Jacob glanced at Gennai. "Indeed, however, it does come with a price." Gennai sighed sadly and the bubble's image changed to show both Angemon and Devimon being destroyed.

"Wait, no! Angemon is a powerful digimon! He couldn't have been destroyed that easily…" Kangamon sniffed. "He was not. Devimon fought using all of his power and forced Angemon to use all of his energy to destroy Devimon." Gennai explained. "So he was destroyed by defeating Devimon?" Michael asked. "That's right. However, Angemon came back as a digimon egg and was given back to his partner, a little boy named TK." Gennai smiled and the bubble disappeared. "The digiegg hatched soon right before they left for Server, at my request." "So it hatched into a Poyomon?" Ravenmon asked and Gennai nodded. "Anyways, now that you've seen how they can get into some hairy situations, I believe it's time for all of you to go to bed! You've been hard at work these past five days, and you deserve a nice long rest." Gennai smiled and directed the boys through a door and the girls through another.

"Azuremon, you go with the boys, okay? I'll be fine." Tiffany directed her partner as he moved to go into the girls' room. "If you wish." He sighed and walked into the boys' room. Linzi giggled. "He's so dramatic sometimes." Ally nodded and smiled. "That's right, just because he's supposed to protect you doesn't mean that he has to follow you everywhere." "He worries about you, just like we all do, Tiffany. Our partners are why we're even here still." Torpedomon reminded the girls. "That's right! If you guys didn't come along, we would've been stuck on that nasty island with Dark Antylamon forever!" Kangamon hopped onto one of the cots that were at the back of the room. "Hm… I guess you're right." Tiffany conceded and sat down with a plop onto one of the cots.

"These are so comfy!" Jacob exclaimed in the next room over, picking up Caninmon to put next to him. "Oooooh, they are…" Caninmon promptly collapsed and began to fall asleep. Michael looked at Chinchilmon, who was also about to fall asleep. "Oh gosh, looks like you guys are exhausted!" He smiled and put Chinchilmon down on the cot. "Mmmm… Not tired…" Ravenmon landed on Luke's shoulder, almost falling off in exhaustion. "I guess that food finally caught up to you, didn't it?" Luke laughed a bit as Azuremon walked into the room.

"Oh, hey Azuremon. Are you going to be in here tonight?" Michael asked the digimon. "Yes, I am. Tiffany has informed me that the genders sleep in different rooms apparently." He said with a slight grin. "That's right. Girls don't like to sleep near us smelly, stinky guys." Jacob made a face and looked at the wall separating the rooms. "I hope they didn't hear me." He muttered as an afterthought, laying back on the cot. "Well, I don't know about you all, but I'm exhausted. It'll be good to get a good night's sleep tonight." Luke saw the neatly folded pile of blankets underneath his cot and quickly got to work making a quick bed. "Yeah, I think that's what I'm going to do as well…" Azuremon and Jacob got to work as well, while Michael just watched the group, eventually leaning back to watch the ceiling.

"I wonder how the boys are doing." Linzi giggled, excited to have only girls to talk to for once. "Well, they're probably all asleep. Knowing them, they probably didn't see the blankets under the cots." Ally laughed from where she was curled up in her blankets. Underneath a pile of blankets in the cot next to Linzi, Tiffany agreed. "Michael might still be awake, but other than that, they're all asleep, I bet." "You're probably right. I'm going to get some shut-eye as well then, I think. I want to be rested up in the morning for whatever Gennai has in store for us to help the other digidestined." Linzi quickly fell asleep, as did the digimon.

"Hey Tiff?" Ally whispered to the older girl. "Yeah, what is it Ally?" Tiffany whispered back. "I've been thinking… Most nights when Michael and I were on our own, he never went to sleep easily. Most nights he actually got up and wandered the city without me knowing, just to try to calm himself down." Ally explained quietly, taking care to not wake Linzi. "I'm going to go check in the other rooms to see if he's doing it again, because it's not safe for him here to do that." Ally started to get up, but Tiffany stopped her. "No, you need to get your rest. I'll go see if he's okay, alright?" Tiffany told her as the older girl quietly tiptoed out of the room. "Ally sighed as she tried to stay awake for Tiffany's return.

Michael sighed in his room, waiting for sleep to come. 'It never really does come that easily, I guess.' He laughed to himself. 'I should see if a walk helps again. It normally helps, so maybe it'll work here too.' He quietly got up and walked out of the room and into the dining room where, just a few hours earlier, they had stuffed their faces full of food. 'Nobody's here? That's good. I wonder if there's a way out of here…' He began studying the room, looking for another exit.

Meanwhile, Gennai watched from a bubble in another room as Michael tried to find a way out of the room. "He can try, but it's not safe here on Server. He must stay in my house…" Michael poked around at one of the windows. "I wonder if one of the girls will come out." Another bubble appeared and he watched Tiffany leave her room and discreetly watch Michael. "Go on now, stop him from looking and get him to sleep." Gennai rooted for the girl.

"Michael?" Tiffany quietly spoke and revealed herself. "Huh?" He turned around and saw Tiffany in her nightgown. "Oh, I'm sorry. Did I wake you?" He asked, heading back to his room. "No, I just had this feeling that you would be out here for some reason. Are you okay?" She asked him and he shrugged. "We're fighting for our lives with no idea of what's actually happening, so who knows." "Well, something tells me that it's more than just that." Tiffany sat down and pulled Michael down with her to sit on the mats. "Start spilling. You're upset, and you're my friend, so I want to help you." She gave him a quick hug. "Eh, I don't really think its necessary…" He mumbled and tried to get up, but Tiffany held tight and pulled him back down.

"Do you not think it's necessary?" She looked him in the eye. "Let me tell you a story that I heard a while ago, but still applies even right now." Michael looked expectantly at her while she situated herself better on the mat.

"A long time ago, there was a little girl who lived in a loving house, with a loving family and a wonderful life. This little girl loved her life so much. Every day, she'd go to school and get to learn so much about the world. She got to talk with her friends, and gawk at the cute boy who sits next to the mean red-head girl who stole her lunch money one day." Tiffany paused for a moment, giving Michael a chance to speak. "It seems like she's got a lot going for her." He sighed sadly. "Sure seems like she does." Tiffany agreed and continued on with her story as Ally quietly sighed in her bed, waiting for her to return.

"This girl grew up in a loving home, with a family who adored her. She never really suffered, or wanted for anything that she didn't really need. She didn't have a boyfriend; she had decided early on that love caused too much heartbreak." Michael nodded when Tiffany took a breath. "This girl had it all, her life was wonderful, her family was amazing, and she loved all of her friends, even if they could get a little dramatic sometimes." Tiffany took another breath and readied herself for Michael's comment, but it didn't come. "One day, this girl began to notice some things that she didn't like. Her school was too noisy, the people too stupid, the drama too stressful for her to deal with." Tiffany sped up a little bit, but quickly slowed back down. "I'd say that this girl needs to relax a bit." Michael chimed in while she took another breath, and Tiffany giggled a bit.

"She began to let this negativity rule her life, she let all of the bad things she heard about her friends hit her in the heart. She bore the brunt of the blow that was always meant for her friends. Sure, her friends weren't the best, but friends are meant to stick up for each other, and so she stuck up for them. Logical, right?" Michael nodded. "I always stick up for my friends." He murmured and looked towards the girls' room. Tiffany patted him on the shoulder and he sighed a bit. "Well, this girl walked into school one day and heard that the nasty rumors were still going around. So, she went to the perpetrator of these rumors and confronted her about it." Michael groaned quietly. "You never confront the rumor spreader, it never ends well."

"Well, like you said, it didn't end well. By the end of the day, there were just as many rumors going around the school about her, and those rumors truly hit hard." Michael frowned and gave Tiffany a hug as her voice choked for a second. "These rumors drove her to the point of self-harm. Her life became meaningless to her because she cared too much about someone else's opinion. It was only a struck of dumb luck that she was able to snap out of it." Tiffany wiped away a tear from the corner of her eye. "Her favorite teacher, a chemistry teacher, noticed her lack of awareness in class and called her out on it after school one day, leading to a series of life-changing events." Tiffany started up again as Michael now sniffled.

"She joined a science club, and found her passion in the sciences. She stopped self-harm after another six months or so, only a week after winning first place in the regional Science Fair. She didn't need to care about other people's opinions because she knew what she was capable of, and she loved herself for who she was. Yes, she still bore the mental scars, and in some cases, the physical scars, of what happened, but she grew stronger, and still to this day does her best to always keep a smile on her face, no matter the circumstance." Tiffany smiled at Michael and gave him a hug. "Thanks Tiff… You sure do know what to say to cheer someone up…" He returned the hug and stood up quietly before turning away.

"Tiff?" He asked, tentatively, as if he was unsure of his question. "Yeah Michael?" Tiffany was still seated. "Was the girl in the story you?" He asked, very hesitant. "Yes, it was me." She smiled kindly at the younger boy and stood up as well. "You don't need to worry about me, purely about yourself. Keep yourself in the best way you can, and I'll be happy." Tiffany smiled and opened the door to her room, expecting to see a room of sleeping digimon and humans, but only seeing a small corridor. "Wait, what is this?" She asked softly to Michael, who had joined her. "I have no clue… I've never seen anything like this before in my life…" Michael gazed in awe as a small box made itself known to the two. "What's in that box?" Tiffany asked, and was answered by a shrug of Michael's shoulders.

"Do you want to try to open it?" Tiffany asked. "Sure, it could be something that explains this place better than Gennai can." Michael stifled a chuckle. The two quickly reached the box and began to open it, only to be blinded by six shining lights that gently floated out of the box. Four of the lights flew past the two and went into the sleeping rooms, while two of the lights stopped in front of Michael and Tiffany. "What are these things?" She asked as the one in front of her stopped glowing its bright purple color and revealed itself to be a gold dog tag looking item with a display case on the front for something. "Woah…" Michael muttered as his dog-tag thing stopped glowing its bright blue color.

Behind the two, they could hear a babble of voices clamoring over each other. "Oh dear… I think we opened something that we weren't supposed to." Tiffany grimaced as she and Michael stepped out of the room to see the aftermath of the dog-tag items.


	10. The Dark Network!

Disclaimer! I own only my OCs and potentially a few of the OC digimon. Everything else is owned by Saban Brands.

Hope you all enjoy!

Chapter 10

"Huh?" Linzi sat up as she held the no-longer glowing yellow dog tag. "What is this?" Ally held her formerly pink tag gently in her hands. Jacob poked his head into their room. "Um… Do you guys have any idea what this is?" He asked, holding up the still glowing dark green tag. "Come on in, it seems like they're important." Ally beckoned the two boys in and saw the bright red glow coming from Luke's dog tag. "Gennai?" Linzi asked as the old man walked into the room. "That's right. It's me." Following Gennai were Michael and Tiffany, both looking rather bashful.

"Michael? Why are you blushing so deeply?" Ally giggled and looked at Tiffany. "Um, we may have opened a box that made these things come flying out at us…" Tiffany trailed. "Oh! Well, that makes more sense." Luke nodded and took Ravenmon off of his head. "Caninmon, time to wake up buddy. Gennai's got a story to tell us." Jacob gently roused his partner. "Kangamon, you awake?" Ally called across the room. "Yes…" She groggily replied as Torpedomon waddled over to Linzi. "It's too early…" She moaned and Linzi giggled.

"I felt your embarrassment Tiffany." Azuremon stood next to Tiffany. "Is everything alright?" She nodded. "Just found these weird things." She showed Azuremon the tag. "It looks special." Chinchilmon chimed in, looking intently at Michael's tag. "If you'll all quiet down, I'll explain what these tags are." Gennai's tapped impatiently on the floor. "We're listening Gennai." Jacob told him. "These little tags are one half of the things that you need to digivolve again to the Ultimate level." Gennai dropped that bombshell.

"Wait a second; didn't you say that Devimon had hidden the tags away?" Michael asked him. "That's right. However, after you all went to sleep last night, a very kind digimon called Whamon brought the other tags to me after the Japanese digidestined found their tags. Do you know what this means?" Gennai answered and asked another question. "Um… That Whamon is a very nice digimon and we should go to him for help?" Ally asked, hopeful. "No. It means that the Japanese digidestined are in Server now. You must leave immediately in the morning. I had hoped to keep you a few more days so you could recuperate, but it seems that you must go now to help them." He sighed and a bubble appeared next to the group.

"The Japanese digidestined are heading straight for a Koromon village that Whamon knew about here. However, Etemon took over that village a long time ago and kidnapped the Koromon. In the morning, you will have to go and stop Etemon from destroying the village and the digidestined." He continued, and the bubble disappeared. "A Koromon village? I thought villages like that only existed on File Server, with Primary Village." Azuremon's eyes widened. "In-training villages like this are rare, as they cannot defend themselves well, but this Koromon village is famous for holding a secret hiding spot that the Koromon hide in if they get into trouble." Gennai answered.

"Well, why can't we go now?" Linzi asked, ready to go. "Look at you all. You're still exhausted and it's not even morning yet. You must get more sleep first and eat again. Some of you are sticks." Gennai shot down that idea. "Alright, I guess that's fine." Linzi conceded. "Besides, the Japanese Digidestined are asleep, right?" Tiffany asked. "Yes, they are. They too, are exhausted, and could use some rest, but they aren't capable of getting it right now." Gennai sighed and turned around. "Very well! Back to bed! All of you! You'll need your strength in the morning." As he said that, Michael yawned and nearly fell asleep on the bed he was sitting on.

"Come on sleepyhead." Luke hoisted Michael up over his shoulder and took him back to the boys room, being followed by Chinchilmon, Azuremon, and Ravenmon. "Be careful girls, and keep an eye on these tags. I've got a feeling that we'll need them." Jacob smiled at the girls and picked up Caninmon, who had drowsily walked into the room while Gennai was talking. "Goodnight boys!" Ally called after the boys. "Well, I don't know about you all, but I'm exhausted." Tiffany stated and promptly fell asleep, getting giggles out of the other two. "Goodnight Linzi." Ally told the girl as she and Kangamon fell back to sleep. "Goodnight." Linzi responded while Torpedomon climbed back up into bed to fall asleep again. She followed suit.

In the Morning

"Are we ready guys?" Jacob burst into the dining room, ready to begin the trek to the other digidestined. "Hold up now Jacob. We need supplies and stuff. That way, we don't have to forage for so much food like last time." Michael reminded the overeager boy. "Okay, that's true. Let's go get some food then!" Jacob excitedly yelled and was about to run out the open door. "Hold up now." Gennai appeared from behind another door. "I don't have that much to feed all of you for very long, but I can supply you with breakfast today. Dig in!" As he said that, food appeared onto the tables and Jacob turned around. "FOOD!" He yelled again and began to dig in.

"Girls, are you ready?" Luke poked his head in the girls' room. "Yep! Let's go girls." Tiffany led the other two out to the food. "I smell food." Kangamon hopped out of the room at lightning speeds while Torpedomon followed her. "I want food." She explained to Linzi as she passed the group. "Come on Azuremon! Food's on the table." Tiffany took a short detour to holler into the boys' room for Azuremon. "Food?" Chinchilmon and Caninmon ran out to the table, quickly beginning to eat. "Azuremon, are you in there?" Tiffany stuck her head in and was surprised to see him slowly standing up. "Are you okay Azuremon?" She asked quietly as the other girls headed to breakfast.

"There is great darkness nearby…" He clutched his head. "And it's giving me a massive headache." He growled and Tiffany gave him a hug. "We'll see if we can get away from it soon enough, okay?" She told her partner and gave him a hug. "Now, let's go get some food, okay?" Azuremon sniffed quietly and ran out to the food. "Well, it seems that even he's unable to control hunger urges." Tiffany giggled and joined her partner.

"Now that you're all here and eating, I have a few last things to say." Gennai glanced across the room to make sure everyone was there. "Yeah? What's up Gennai?" Jacob asked. "You must not lose the Japanese digidestined. If either group is to defeat the evils on this continent, you must work together. That being said, with the exception of little TK, the other digidestined will most likely attack first and talk later. They are on their guard now, and so you must not be seen. Understood?" Gennai explained. "Got it. Follow and help it necessary, but do not reveal unless absolutely necessary." Linzi summarized and nodded. "We can do that just fine, right?" Ally looked at Kangamon, who nodded. "Easily. We could even grab a tarp that looks like the sand so we can at least hide better in the desert." Chinchilmon spoke and jumped up onto Michael's shoulder and grabbed a piece of fruit that he had been holding. "That's my fruit!" Michael tried to look offended, but failed, making Chinchilmon laugh.

"Wonderful. If you'll quickly finish your breakfast, the Digimon Mother has graciously allowed me to create another tunnel to the Koromon village." Gennai pointed towards the hill that they had entered his house from. "Well, that's really nice of her." Torpedomon smiled and quickly finished what she had been eating. "Well then guys?" Michael apprehensively looked around the room. "Are we ready?" Luke asked. "You betcha!" Ravenmon flew up and out of the door, heading towards the tunnel. "Here we go again, I guess." Luke followed him as the group joined the two at the edge of tunnel.

"Well, goodbye Gennai!" Jacob smiled and the group began to head off into the tunnel as Gennai watched them disappear. "I do hope that they can make it out of this one… But I must have faith and help them out as much as I possibly can, isn't that so?" He asked to no one in particular. "Yes. That's right. I must have faith. In the mean time, I'll just watch their progress." He chuckled to himself, seemingly, and went back inside his house, where he sat down on a chair and summoned two bubbles to watch the two groups.

"Quickly guys. Remember to use the walls so we can get through here as fast as possible." Linzi reminded the group as they sped up. "There's no telling what waits for us once we're outside of this tunnel, so we must be cautious." Azuremon spoke to no one in particular. "Well, as long as we have you guys on our side, there's no way we can lose." Tiffany tried to boost the group's confidence. "That's the spirit! We're going to be just fine." Kangamon chimed in and gasped suddenly. "Look guys! At the end of the tunnel, there's a light! It's got to be the Koromon village that Gennai was talking about." She sped up again as the light grew closer. "Be careful now. If possible, observe from far away and if you see any of their digivolutions, get ready to help." Michael told the group and they nodded. "Right. Protecting them is the main goal here." Chinchilmon put on a serious face for once.

"Here we are guys…" Ravenmon cautiously did an overhead surveillance check of the village. "It looks pretty calm." He reported back. "The other digidestined must be near here, so let's get looking." Luke began to walk out of the cave and promptly hid behind a bush. "Found them?" Tiffany crawled up behind him. "You betcha. Look down there." He responded and she saw Mimi being carried off by the Pagumon that had taken over the village. "Oh dear… Those are Pagumon. Those tricky little in-training digimon love to just cause a ruckus." Torpedomon stood next to them while Linzi had climbed up in a tree to get a better view.

The rest of the group came out of the tunnel and, as the tunnel disappeared, saw that they were in a forest. "Well look at that. A forest is good for hiding." Michael smiled and climbed up a tree as well to get a better view of the other digidestined. "Why isn't Palmon digivolving?" He asked Chinchilmon. "It's probably because even Mimi could fight off a group of in-training digimon with relative ease. She's not in any real danger." Chinchilmon replied and Kangamon, underneath the tree, agreed. "When she gets into real trouble though, Palmon will digivolve really quickly, so don't worry about it too much." Kangamon told Ally, who looked worried for the young girl.

"Hey, over there. It's the other digidestined." Jacob kept his voice low. "They're coming down the side of that hill to enter the village." Caninmon woofed and stared at Agumon intently. "Why doesn't Agumon know that something's up? Pagumon don't normally take over villages unless they're under the command of another digimon…" The realization hit him as soon as it hit Azuremon. "This is a trap set up by Etemon." Azuremon spoke and Caninmon nodded. "How do we warn them though?" Tiffany asked. "We can't. We can only watch until they really need us." Azuremon told her softly. "Hm…" She sighed and glanced back at Mimi, being taken away by the Pagumon into a large tower as the other digidestined ran after her.

"Don't worry. They're strong. They defeated Devimon, remember?" Azuremon reminded her. "That's right. They're very powerful too, just like us, so there's no need to worry." Ravenmon began to fly to the tower to get a better look at what was going on inside of it. "Do you think we should get closer as well?" Luke asked Michael and Jacob. "No." The two spoke in unison and glanced at each other. "We'll be fine right where we are, plus, Ravenmon can give us a surveillance report." Jacob reminded Luke. "That's right. Ravenmon will take care of it." Michael confirmed.

Ravenmon gasped as he peaked into the walls, seeing the digidestined find Mimi's pink hat. "Look! It's Mimi's hat!" Sora alerted the group to her hat on the stairs. They quickly climbed up the stairs and ran into a hallway. "Hey! It's Mimi's purse!" Joe exclaimed. "She never goes anywhere without it."

Right as he said that, Ravenmon let out a tiny squawk as he thought of what could've happened to Mimi, and TK turned around to look for the sound. 'QUIET RAVENMON! QUIET!' He yelled at himself. "Hm… I wonder what that sound was." TK wondered, continuing onwards with the group. 'Whew… He didn't notice me…' Ravenmon breathed a sigh of relief and continued following the group through the wall.

Tai quickly stormed through what looked to be a changing room as Sora took a look at one of the racks. "Wait, it's Mimi's clothes!" She turned to Tai. "No Tai! Don't go in there!" Tai threw open a curtain that he thought Mimi was behind. "Mimi!" He called out and then saw her. Mimi was sitting in a hot bath with steam rolling off of it with her back to Tai, singing. "Oooooh, wash, wash, wash away!" She sang as she cleaned herself with a rag.

Izzy came up behind Tai as Tai's eyes widened. "What's the-" Izzy cut himself off as his eyes widened. "Oh! Uh, sorry!" He turned around right as Mimi noticed the boys. "HEY! HAVEN'T YOU TWO EVER HEARD THE PHRASE "KNOCK BEFORE ENTERING"?" She yelled and covered herself up. Tai tried to explain quickly. "Mimi! We're here to rescue you and-" He was cut off by a giant towel and a bottle of shampoo that Mimi had just thrown at him. "Mimi! We can expla-" Izzy was also cut off by a pair of shower shoes that she had just thrown at him.

Coming up behind the two, Sora quickly closed the shower curtain and looked at them. "I believe I said to not go in." She stated, matter-of-factly. Izzy and Tai laid on the ground, groaning as shower products surrounded them.

Ravenmon decided that he had seen enough for the time being and quickly began flying back to the other group, who had begun to set up camp in the forest. "Hey guys!" He cheerfully called out when he landed back in the newly formed campsite. "Hey buddy. What did you find out?" Luke asked his partner. "Well, the other digidestined found Mimi and she was taking a bath, so two of the boys ended up with lots of shower products thrown at them. Other than that, there was no sign of the Pagumon." Ravenmon quickly filled the group in.

"Hm… We know that Mimi was taken away by the Pagumon, so where on earth, or rather, the digital world, could they have gone?" Michael asked. "They could've easily hidden themselves in the other baths." Ally supplied a reason. "Why though? They had the digidestined at their mercy basically, when they had kidnapped Mimi." Tiffany countered. "Etemon. He probably wants them gone for some reason that I don't know." Jacob shrugged. "It's a very likely theory. Etemon probably heard about them from some of Devimon's old henchmen, and he didn't want to lose his position as the "king of Server"." Caninmon sniggered and sat next to Jacob's log. "Well, whatever the case may be, all we can do is watch, so we might as well settle down now." Azuremon pointed out and Torpedomon nodded.

Later That Evening

"Welcome to our village! We hope you never go!" The Pagumon were putting on a party for the Japanese digidestined. "Stay and visit here with us, and please enjoy the show!" They cheered as the Japanese digidestined watched in the top room of the tower. Gabumon spoke quietly to Agumon. "This is definitely a Pagumon village, Agumon." "There's something wrong here, Gabumon. I know what I smelled was Koromon, and I'd bet my nose on it." Agumon whispered back as the Pagumon began their show.

"Here's your Pu-Pu platters!" The Pagumon began distributing food to the children. "I feel like a princess in a beautiful palace!" Mimi cried out with joy at seeing the food. "I once had a Chihuahua named Princess." Joe told her, frowning. "Huh?" Mimi asked in confusion as the Pagumon continued giving out food. "Food! Food! Food! We've got plenty!" He cried in excitement as Tai and Sora took a yellow apple-looking fruit.

"Tai, you don't suppose that this could be a trick, do you?" She asked him. "Remember Devimon? He tricked us with food too." She kept her voice low. As she expected, Tai answered in the negative. "Course not! You think I don't know a good digimon from a bad one?" He smiled and continued eating. "Hm…" Sora turned away and watched the Pagumon again. "We can show you so much fun, it would be inhumane!" The in-training digimon cheered again.

Tentomon and Gomamon were sitting in front of an untouched plate of fruit and food. "This is really strange." Tentomon stared at the food warily. "I've always heard that the Pagumon were awful pranksters." He finished. Gomamon tried to reassure him, though. "You were just hearing an awful rumor." He smiled. "Nice of you to say that!" A duo of Pagumon chimed in as they walked past the two, as well as Biyomon and Palmon.

"These guys are really nice little digimon!" Biyomon chowed down into the plate of food in front of her. The Pagumon passed by again and chimed in. "Right! Nice digimon!" They smiled as Palmon stared worryingly down at her food, hearing the Pagumon's chants again. "Next to you, we're geniuses!" The Pagumon continued cheering on as the Japanese digidestined continued to eat.

"Do you like that, Poyomon?" TK asked his baby digimon friend as Poyomon chowed down on a piece of fruit. "Poyo, poyo!" Poyomon cheered and suddenly began to shake. "POYOMON DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOO TOKOMON!" A bright light enveloped Poyomon, and when it dispersed, Tokomon was in Poyomon's place. "Hey! He's Tokomon again!" TK cheered and smiled at his digimon partner. "The food made him digivolve!" Izzy noticed. "Congratulations buddy." Matt congratulated his younger brother as the Pagumon suspiciously laughed.

"Together, we could make me Patamon again!" Tokomon cheered and TK agreed. "Let's hear it for Tokomon!" Mimi stood up and proposed a toast. "Yaaaay!" One of the Pagumon cheered. "Congratulations Tokomon!" Biyomon smiled at the in-training digimon. "Way to go!" Gabumon congratulated Tokomon as the room erupted into cheers for the little digimon.

"Congratulations, way to go! We're so excited, all aglow!" The Pagumon cheering squad clapped their ears together for Tokomon, even though their eyes glowed eerily.

Late That Night

Both groups of digidestined were fast asleep, the Americans in the forest, and the Japanese in one of the huts that the Pagumon lived in. However, all was not as peaceful as it seemed, as with the Japanese digidestined, Tokomon was jerked awake as a gag was stuffed in his mouth, preventing him from yelling. The little digimon saw the shadows of several Pagumon before being knocked out and quietly dragged away from the other digidestined and their partners.

The Pagumon were far away from the village, when Tokomon woke up and spat out his gag. "I WANT MY DIGIMOMMY!" He cried out and began to sob as, tied up by rope and carried by the Pagumon, he couldn't move or escape. They roughly dropped him in a cave and surrounded him with pointy sticks.

"Hey, why are you picking on me?" Tokomon sniffled. "Well, because you digivolved!" One of the Pagumon sneered. "You were so easy to fool! What a bunch of losers." Another Pagumon chimed in and stuck out its tongue. "Hey! What do you think you're doing?" Another group of three digimon walked up to the Pagumon. "Oh no… Those are Gazimon… On the evil scale of 1-10, with 10 being bad, these digimon are a 12!" Tokomon tried to stand up. "Where did that Tokomon come from?" The leader of the three asked the Pagumon.

"Well, the Tokomon came to our village with some humans, but-" One of the Pagumon tried to speak to the Gazimon but was cut off. "Wait, there are humans here?" The one of the left barked at the Pagumon. "Yes…" The Pagumon spoke quietly. "Lord Etemon will want to know about this…" The Gazimon chuckled evilly and glared at Tokomon, who whimpered. "Oh no… Somebody help me…" He whispered as the Gazimon came closer.

"You eat too much!" One of the Pagumon complained as they hopped Tokomon over to a cage. "Quit squirming!" Another ordered. "No!" Tokomon defiantly yelled as he tried to get away. "Into the cage with you!" The Pagumon evilly laughed and threw the digimon in a metal cage. "You're not so special now, are you?" One of the Pagumon taunted Tokomon as the digimon began to cry. "Yeah, you're not so special now!" Another one copied the first Pagumon's statement.

Tokomon watched as, to his terror, dozens of pairs of glowing red eyes appeared out of the darkness in front of him. "Oh no…" He almost started to cry again, but was relieved when one of the pair of eyes hopped into the light.

"One of us has to tell Lord Etemon that the digidestined humans are here." The Gazimon were arguing amongst themselves outside of the cave. "I'll go. I gotta ask him for some time off for a hair-cut anyway." One of the Gazimon volunteered for the job. He turned around and began running off into the distance. "Keep an eye on those kids, or Etemon will make digistew out of you!" The other two Gazimon ordered the Pagumon to watch the other kids. "Right!" The group of Pagumon snickered evilly and began to head back to their village.

The orange monkey digimon known as Etemon grinned as he heard the news that the Gazimon had for him. "Ha! I'm the biggest deal on the continent of server! I can control anything electronic through my Dark Network! Not even those digidestined kids can stop me!" He spun around in a circle and struck one of Elvis's classic poses. "Everyone hail Etemon! The true king!" He poorly sang a line and the Gazimon bowed down. "Now, you're too early for today's show, so go on and get going!" Etemon looked at a map and turned on an amplifier. "The humans will be here soon. You see, now, once I start makin' my faaabulous music, those kids will be mine!" The Gazimon jumped onto the Monochromon train that Etemon was riding and hung on. "Now! Let's go! Release the Dark Network!" Etemon cried out and a track of dark wires created a train track for the Monochromon to follow, heading straight for the Pagumon village.

Back At the Pagumon Village

"TOKOMON!" TK cried out, looking for his partner as the Pagumon pretended to search as well. The rest of the other digidestined began looking through the village. "Tokomon! Are you here?" Agumon began searching the area near the waterfall. "I smell Koromon…" He sniffed again and began to look around the waterfall. "Wait, is it from behind the waterfall?" He wondered and slowly walked into the cave behind it. "Agumon!" Tokomon cried out at seeing his digimon friend. "Tokomon! The Koromon!" Agumon cried out in happiness and began conversing with the digimon. "Wait, so the Pagumon took over your village? The others are in trouble!" He turned around and was greeted by a not-so-pleasant sight. "Gazimon!" He gasped in shock as the two digimon lunged to attack him.

With the American Digidestined in the forest

Ravenmon quickly reported back what he had seen. "Apparently Tokomon's gone missing!" Luke exclaimed and the group quickly began looking at the village. "Have they tried near the waterfall?" Tiffany asked, pointing to the water thundering into a pond. "It looks like the Pagumon searched it, so knowing them, the Koromon and Tokomon are all there." Ravenmon relayed and landed on the ground. "Well, what can we do to help?" Ally asked. "One of us should try to warn them about the danger that they're in." Caninmon quietly spoke. "I'll go." Linzi volunteered. "I'll go with you." Torpedomon agreed with her partner and the two headed towards the waterfall and the village.

"Gah!" Azuremon clutched his head and cried out. "Azuremon! Are you okay?" Tiffany rushed to her partner's side and hugged him. "There's an evil presence nearby…" He stood up straight and turned to the right. "There." Azuremon ran in that direction as Tiffany followed him. "Azuremon! Wait up!" "Tiffany!" Jacob and Caninmon followed the girl and her partner as they ran towards Etemon's Dark Network that was set up in the area.

At the Waterfall

"TORPEDOMON! NOW!" Linzi ordered her digimon to attack the Gazimon that were beating up Agumon. "On it! HORN BLASTER!" Torpedomon's horn detached itself and fired itself into the cave, where a loud groan was heard. "There we go! Pepper breath!" They could hear Agumon firing another attack at the Gazimon. "Torpedomon, fire an attack up at the sky so the other digidestined know that there's a fight going on over here." Linzi whispered to her digimon and Torpedomon complied. "HORN BLASTER!" She fired round after round into the sky, watching them explode while hearing the noises from Agumon and the Gazimons' fight.

"OVER THERE GUYS! THERE'S A FIGHT AND AGUMON'S IN TROUBLE!" Tai yelled as he reached the bottom of the tower from his looking post. "No! Please don't go over there!" One of the Pagumon exclaimed. "Why not?" Sora asked, becoming very suspicious of the digimon. "Um… We already checked over there?" The Pagumon offered. "Look! It's a Botamon, the digimon that digivolves into Koromon and then into Agumon." Gabumon pointed out. "That means this is a Koromon village!" Tentomon realized and glared down at the Pagumon. "Um… Well, it was really nice meeting you and all but we've got to go!" The pack of Pagumon ran off into the distance as the digidestined ran towards the waterfall.

"AGUMON!" Tai yelled, at the head of the pack. "AGUMON! ARE YOU IN THERE?" He yelled at the waterfall. "We did it Torpedomon. Let's head back to the others." Linzi whispered to her partner from behind the boulder that they had hid themselves behind. "Right." Torpedomon nodded and the two quickly began to head back up to their friends. "Agumon! Are you alright?" Tai ran behind the waterfall to see the Gazimon about to attack him again. "I am now!" Agumon cheered and began to digivolve. "AGUMON DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOO GREYMON!"

The dinosaur digimon stood up and glared at the Gazimon. "NOVA BLAST! TWO AGAINST ONE ISN'T FAIR NOW, EH?" He called out to the Gazimon as they were knocked into the fast moving river that the pond led to. "WOAAAAAH!" The Gazimon were swept away by the current. "Good job Greymon!" Tai cheered. "Tokomon… I thought I lost you again!" TK cheered and helped his digimon out of the ropes. "I'm like a boomerang! I keep coming back." Tokomon smiled. "Hey guys! Lets free the Koromon." The other digidestined quickly freed the Koromon. "Hey guys, you can go back to your village now." Sora smiled as the Koromon surged forward only to push right back when a shadow covered the cave entrance. "Well, hello there." Etemon stepped into the cave. "Oh great, it's a digielvis." Joe sighed and put his face in his hands.

"AZUREMON! YOU'VE GOT TO SLOW DOWN! There's no telling where we could end up!" Tiffany yelled after Azuremon. "I know Tiffany, but we must destroy this abomination." Azuremon suddenly stopped and growled at the black wires that came out of the ground and went straight to the Koromon village. "How though? It looks as strong as steel!" Tiffany asked, confused. "TRIAN BEAM!" Azuremon attacked the wires, sending a wave of energy at them that only seemed to shift the wires. "See?" Tiffany pointed out. "Caninmon, how about you give it a try?" Jacob caught up to the two, bringing Caninmon with him. "Sure! HYPER BLAST!" The electric attack also only succeeded in moving the wires. "Hm… What can we do?" Tiffany asked, determined to find a way to destroy the wire.

"Maybe we could digivolve and see if that would help?" She looked hopefully at Azuremon. "Why doesn't Caninmon try first?" Azuremon smoothly put it on Caninmon. "Well, alrighty then. Let's go buddy!" Jacob cheered. "CANINMON DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOO RANETSUMON!" The powerful wolf-looking digimon glared at the wire. "WOLF KNUCKLES!" Ranetsumon punched the wire with his attack and the wires cracked. "There you go! Azuremon, try it now." Tiffany told her partner. "TRIAN BEAM!" Her partner fired another attack right where the wire had been cracked, making the crack even bigger. "Try it again Ranetsumon." Jacob grinned in anticipation. "HIYA! WOLF KNUCKLES!" The attack struck the crack and shattered that part of the wire. "Sweet! Look at the wire. It's disappearing too!" Tiffany cheered as Azuremon, Ranetsumon, and Jacob watched the wire disappear.

Etemon glared at the Japanese digidestined. "You measly little digidestined humans, thank you very much!" The Koromon began to panic. "Oh no! It's Etemon!" They yelled and hurried back into the cave. Etemon stood on top of his train and began to poorly play a guitar. "You messed up all of my beautiful plans! No one messes up the beautiful plans of the King of Server." "Hey now! We didn't do anything!" Mimi cried out in fear. "Uh huh huh! I got a little number that I hope you kids really don't like! I call it destroying the whole village!" Etemon began to play his guitar and sing. "DARK NETWORK CONCERT CRUSH!"

"AAAAAH!" The Japanese digidestined screamed as the ground began to shake violently. "DO YOU THINK HE COULD ACTUALLY DESTROY THE VILLAGE?" Izzy yelled at Tai. "I wouldn't doubt it!" He yelled back. "Everyone, HOLD ON TIGHT!" Matt yelled and grabbed TK. They watched in horror as they saw a network of black wires rise above the village and slowly begin attacking it. "THE BUILDINGS! They're being destroyed!" Sora yelled as Joe began to panic. "Now I knew I should've packed noise-proof headphones!" He yelled as the village was slowly destroyed.

"Come on guys! Digivolving time!" Tai yelled and the group's digimon began to digivolve. "GABUMON DIGIVOLVE TOOOOO GARURUMON!" The blue wolf stood menacingly outside of the cave entrance. "You want digivolution? I don't think so!" Etemon became to laugh. "DARK NETWORK! CONCERT CRUSH!" He yelled again and Greymon and Garurumon were both forced to dedigivolve. "What's going on with our digimon?" Tai yelled. "Something's going on!" He managed to drag Agumon and Gabumon back to the cave. "Izzy, Etemon's Concert Crush attack took our power! We can't digivolve." Tentomon explained. "Oh no! We're in real trouble now." TK frowned.

"RUN! WE'VE GOT TO STOP THAT MONSTER!" Ally began running as fast as she could towards the waterfall, with Kangamon at her heels. "Here we go!" Luke and Ravenmon followed suit as Tiffany, Azuremon, Jacob, and Ranetsumon caught up with the group. "Linzi and Torpedomon are on their way back down now, and Michael and Chinchilmon are still up at the top of the cliff, but they just started heading down." Luke explained to Tiffany what had been going on. "That Etemon should be taken down a notch soon. We destroyed one of his nasty dark networks." Tiffany smiled as they reached the bottom of the hill. "The cave is collapsing!" Linzi gasped, out of breath, as her friends caught up to her at the bottom of the hill. "NOT IF I CAN HELP IT!" Ranetsumon jumped up and sped towards the cave. "WOLF'S ILLUSION!" His clones quickly went to work blocking the rocks from completely blocking up the cave.

At that moment, Etemon felt the destruction of his dark network and growled in pain. "DIGIDESTINED! YOU MAY HAVE MANAGED TO DESTROY ONE OF MY DARK NETWORKS BUT I WILL DESTROY YOU!" He whipped the Monochromon driven train and drove off as fast as possible. "There you go!" Michael cheered as he and Chinchilmon met up with the others at the bottom of the hill. "Are the Japanese digidestined all in that cave?" Tiffany asked Ranetsumon, who had summoned his clones back to him. "Yes, as far as I could see." Ranetsumon dedigivolved back into Caninmon, who was then picked up by Jacob. "Thanks for all of your hard work buddy." Jacob smiled at his partner, who sleepily smiled back.

"We've got to be quiet…" Linzi warned the group as they stepped into the cave behind the Japanese digidestined and the Koromon. "Listen." Michael hushed them. "Lookie! We can even go out this way if it's too dangerous to return, like it is now!" The Koromon's voice came from around the corner, and was followed by a burst of light. "Wait, Tai! What's that thing?" They could hear Matt's voice coming through the cave away from them. "It looks like a stone tablet sort of thing…" Tai's voice came through as the cave became illuminated by the tablet. "It's so red and bright…" Mimi ruffled her nose at it. "The colors are too gaudy." She decided and continued walking. "It's… My crest…" Tai trailed off and watched as the red trapezoid crest fit into his tag. "It's got a sun-looking design on it." He muttered to himself. "The Crest of Courage." A voice was heard through the cave that didn't belong to any of the digidestined. "You have the Crest of Courage? How cool Tai!" Agumon smiled at his partner, who smiled back. "Let's keep going. We're almost out of the cave." He spoke to the group as they kept walking.

"Well, this is where Tai's Crest of Courage was." Linzi pointed out as the slab started glowing again. "Wait, what's going on?" Michael glanced around the room, looking for a trap. "It's another crest…" Tiffany was shocked as it flew to her. "It's my crest?" She asked, looking at the slab as it glowed a purple color. "The Crest of Determination." The same voice came to only her this time. "Thank you…" The purple crest fit perfectly into her tag. "It's got a cute little bird footprint pattern, with the circle at the bottom and the three claws coming out of that." Ally pointed out. "How wonderful! We've only got five more crests left then, so let's keep looking." Jacob suggested and the group agreed, getting through the last bits of the tunnel with ease.


	11. The First Encounter!

Disclaimer! I own only my OCs and potentially a few of the OC digimon. Everything else is owned by Saban Brands.

Hope you all enjoy!

Chapter 11

"Look over there guys. The Japanese digidestined seemed to be taking a bit of a break." Luke pointed at the other group of digidestined. "We should see if there's any place to hide around here then." Ally looked around, but only saw desert. "Well, it seems like we got stuck with desert." Kangamon told her. "That's true. Can we use the tarp?" Michael pulled Linzi's backpack off of his back and took out the tarp. "I guess so. We'd at least be able to lie down and watch them, which is better than trying to be inconspicuous." Chinchilmon started stretching out the tarp as the group quickly hid from the Japanese digidestined. "Keep quiet guys. We can't let them know that we're here yet." Tiffany whispered as they hid.

"Ravenmon, can you hear anything? Or any of you?" Jacob asked the digimon. "They're really tired." Caninmon used his excellent hearing to listen in. "They're probably going to take a break for a while, so we better be careful." Azuremon deduced. "They don't seem to have much food. I wonder how hungry they are." Linzi peered out from under the tarp at the meager rations that Tai was handing out to the group. "How big is this desert, anyways?" Torpedomon asked quietly, getting a shrug from the group. "I don't like it… It's too hot." She panted as Linzi gave her some water. "Hang in there girl, we'll make it out of this blasted desert soon enough." Chinchilmon patted Torpedomon on the back.

"Mimi, we don't have much food. You're just going to have to make do until we can get some more." Izzy told her. "Izzy's right. We just have to tough it out until we can get to a jungle." Matt glanced up at TK. "You doing okay TK?" He asked his little brother. "Oh yeah Matt! I'm fine." TK smiled at his brother. "That's good to hear." Matt smiled and turned his attention to Gabumon. "How are you guys doing?" Joe asked Gomamon. "We're all just really hot." Gomamon lay in the shade of Tai and Agumon. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm loving this heat!" Agumon smiled and jumped around. "Speak for yourself. I wish I had a detachable fur coat." Gabumon wiped a bead of sweat off of his forehead.

"They look really hot…" Luke sighed and glanced around. "Gah…" Azuremon clutched his head again. "What's wrong buddy?" Tiffany looked at her partner. "Etemon is nearby…" He spoke quickly as the American digidestined began to be thrown about by the shaking of the ground. "He's right by us. Everyone, be quiet." Jacob ordered. "HEY HEY HEY! Digidestined, I'm coming for you!" The American digidestined froze as they saw a massive shadow pass over them. "It's Etemon…" Michael whispered as Ally shook as Etemon's train drove right over the group towards the Japanese digidestined. "Oh no… He's heading right for the other group." Ally whispered and watched as the other group of digidestined started running towards a tall building off in the distance.

"Stay still. We can't let him know that we're here." Linzi watched as Etemon's train randomly disappeared when the Japanese digidestined ran into the mysterious building in the distance. "We need to follow them. Now. It's probably some form of a trap." Luke stood up and grabbed the tarp as the others stood up quickly and began running to the building. "Hurry!" Tiffany yelled as they slowly started up towards the building. "What even is that building?" Kangamon asked Ally. "It looks like an old-school coliseum!" Ally sped up a bit to catch the rest of the group as neared the coliseum.

"Everyone! Hold up!" Joe yelled as he looked down and saw his tag glowing a gray color. "My crest is near here!" He yelled as the group slid to a stop inside of the coliseum. "That's awesome, Joe! Let's start looking." Gomamon ran up into the stands immediately and Joe ran after him. "GOMAMON! WAIT UP!" He yelled as TK giggled. "TK, you stay right here. Gabumon, let's look around the inner ring of this thing." Matt told TK to stay there as he and Gabumon ran farther into the building. "Mimi, you should stay here with TK while the rest of us explore this place." Tai and the rest of the digidestined split up as well as Mimi sighed. "Don't worry, Mimi! I'm sure we'll find the crest soon and be out of here faster than you can say cheeseburger!" TK smiled and gave the girl clad in pink a hug. "That's right TK! I've got to keep my spirits up for Palmon too." Mimi smiled and placed her hat on the plant digimon's head. "Thanks Mimi! It's getting really hot down here." Palmon told her and Tokomon nodded from where he sat on the ground.

"HEY JOE! Find anything on the stands?" Sora called up to the boy, who was rummaging through the stands wildly. "Not quite! I'll let you know if thing decides to activate again!" Joe yelled as Gomamon jumped in front of him. "Nothing over there!" He reported and jumped onto Joe's head, causing Joe to yell out in shock. "Careful there Gomamon!" Tai glanced up and saw Joe teetering towards the edge. "Don't worry! We'll be fine!" Gomamon cheerfully replied as Joe yelled again. "THAT'S THE EDGE!" Joe yelled as he tripped over and began falling.

However, he landed on something that broke his fall. "Huh?" Gomamon turned around and saw a brown head. "Woah! It's Greymon! He saved us!" Gomamon cheerfully exclaimed. "Wow! Thanks Greymon!" Joe patted the Greymon's head. "GRAAAAAAAAAH!" The Greymon began shaking its head back and forth, trying to get the annoying pests off of its head. "GOMAMON!" Joe yelled. "YEAH?" The digimon responded. "I DON'T THINK THIS IS GREYMON!" Joe pointed to Tai and Agumon, standing on the other side of the coliseum. "Hey hey hey!" A giant screen appeared over one side of the coliseum. "You sure got that right, hey hey hey!" Etemon's face appeared on the screen as Mimi screamed. "That's right little girl! Scream away! Everyone loves to see the King!" Etemon stepped back a bit and the screen adjusted to show his whole body. "How does everyone like my good friend Greymon?" He asked as he pointed to Tai. "GO FOR IT!" Tai yelled as Agumon began running forward to engage the Greymon.

"We've got to be faster next time." Luke noted as he and Ravenmon went around the backside of the coliseum. "That's right. They might not be doing so well right now." Ravenmon flew up and sat on top of Etemon's screen to watch the two Greymon go at it. He quickly flew back down, however, when it became clear that Tai's Greymon was losing. "It's not going well. The good Greymon is much weaker than Etemon's Greymon." He quickly told the assembled group. "Oh no…" Linzi looked at the ground. "None of the other digimon have digivolved for some reason, which is really confusing me." Ravenmon also told the group. "Okay, so it's not an overly overpowered Greymon. Just stronger than theirs." Michael smiled and gave Linzi a quick hug. "They'll be fine, especially if Gabumon digivolves." Tiffany nodded. "Ravenmon, can you keep us updated up there?" Jacob asked Luke's partner and the digimon obliged. "And be careful not to get hurt!" Caninmon barked up after him.

"GREYMON! BE CAREFUL!" Tai yelled as his Greymon was knocked back by Etemon's Greymon again. "HEY HEY HEY NOW! Not so tough now, Digidestined?" Etemon laughed and continued watching as his Greymon knocked Tai's Greymon down again. "YOU'VE GOTTA KEEP TRYING GREYMON!" Tai yelled, trying to motivate his friend to get back up. "You know, watching this battle is so confusing, not knowing who to root for." Joe commented as he and Gomamon quietly walked behind Etemon's screen, following the light of Joe's crest. "We gotta keep looking for the crest though. They'll be fine." Right as Gomamon said this, they heard Sora scream and a loud crashing noise. "SORA!" Joe began to turn around to run down, but was stopped by the sight of Birdramon flying overhead with Sora holding on for dear life. "THANKS BIRDRAMON!" She yelled as Birdramon gently landed on the other side of the screen away from Etemon.

"That was a close one…" Ally opened her eyes and saw Birdramon's tail feathers passing over the stands again. "Luke, are you gonna be alright?" Michael asked the older boy, who nodded. "Yep. If anything happens, Ravenmon can digivolve and that'll work out just fine." Luke began climbing up the rough edge of the coliseum to get a better view. "Ravenmon, come up here with me and we'll just watch." Ravenmon landed on the top rim of coliseum and helped his partner up. "There. Just be careful not to fall." He squawked at his partner, who nodded. "Hey, look. My tag is glowing. My crest is near here." Luke quickly glanced around and saw Joe and Gomamon heading his way. "Shoot. Ravenmon, I think we've been discovered." Luke whispered quickly and pulled himself up all the way, not seeing a point to try to hide when Joe would inevitably see him.

"Woah!" Joe yelled as he jumped back at the sudden appearance of Luke. "Ravenmon, relax. We startled him." Luke told his partner, who glared at Gomamon, who was glaring equally hard at him. "Give me one reason why I shouldn't digivolve and knock you out of this desert." Gomamon glanced between the two as Joe tried to compose himself. "This tag, one of which, you have, Joe. I was sent to help your team, but I can't stay for long." Luke turned to the back of the screen. "That one can't know I'm here yet." He whispered as Joe picked up Gomamon. "You say you know something about my tag?" Joe asked, curious. "Gomamon, if he's here to help us, we might as well not waste his time." Gomamon deflated a little bit, but nodded his head. "Okay, I'll be good." He smiled at Luke. 'If what happened with Tai's crest happens again here, then my crest will be with Joe's.' Luke thought, glancing at Ravenmon. "Oh, I'm so blind." He smacked his forehead. "Look over there, Joe." Luke pointed to the desert. "It's some sort of weird temple." Joe saw the structure.

"My best bet would be that our crests would be in there." Luke hopped over the railing of the coliseum and started climbing down as Joe reluctantly followed the older boy. "Are you sure that this is safe?" He asked Luke, extremely terrified of the long drop. "Hey, don't worry. If you fall, Ravenmon and Gomamon will catch you, right guys?" Luke turned to the digimon. "That's right! We'll digivolve right up and you'll be just fine." Ravenmon squawked and slowly lowered Gomamon to the ground. "You can digivolve too?" Gomamon's mouth dropped. "I thought we were the only ones who could digivolve!" "Not quite. There are a few scattered throughout the world who can digivolve, like you and I." Ravenmon explained as the two reached the ground.

"Hey, Joe, don't worry. If you fall, I'll catch you. You're quite a bit smaller than me, so it should be fairly easy." Luke reached the ground and looked up at the slowly descending Joe. "I know, but I don't want either of us to get hurt in this hostile environment. It's already causing my asthma to act up." Joe coughed a little bit, to prove his point. "Hey, you've got to loosen up a little bit Joe. I've got plenty of medical supplies to last quite a while. Plus, there are no digimon around here. They're all too afraid of that big guy up there." He pointed to Etemon's screen. "Okay, if you insist…" Joe sped up a little bit and almost fell off of the foothold he had. "OH GOD!" He yelled and Luke smiled a bit. "Hey, don't worry about it buddy. You're close enough to the ground so that I should be able to catch you." Luke told the boy, who relaxed. "Okay, I'm coming down then." Joe quickly jumped into Luke's arms, who quickly deposited him on the ground. "Well, that wasn't as bad as I thought it would be." Joe relaxed slightly and began moving towards the temple. "He didn't waste any time." Ravenmon quietly laughed and followed Gomamon and Joe with Luke in tow.

"GREYMON! YOU'VE GOT TO FIND MORE ENERGY!" Tai yelled as Etemon's Greymon knocked his Greymon down to the ground and stood over him triumphantly. "There you go Greymon! Finish him off now! Hey hey hey!" Etemon chuckled and glared at the Japanese digidestined. "NO! GREYMON!" Tai yelled and an idea popped into his head. "GUYS, TRUST ME ON THIS!" He yelled to his friends and rushed towards his fallen partner. "ETEMON! YOU'LL HAVE TO KILL ME FIRST TO GET THEM!" Tai yelled as he threw himself in front of his partner. "TAI, NO!" Matt yelled, the fear palpable in his voice. "Stay here!" He and Sora ran towards their leader while TK and Mimi turned away. "Suit yourself! Hey hey hey! Finish him Greymon!" Etemon's Greymon began to attack as Gabumon digivolved quickly into Garurumon. "HOWING BLASTER!" The digimon blasted the Greymon, who simply shrugged it off.

"Joe, we've got to hurry. I don't know how long this could take, but I think your friends need your help." Luke sped up again, almost at a full run. "Gomamon, jump onto his head." Ravenmon ordered the small digimon, who did so, allowing Joe to speed up, not having to wait for his partner. "At this rate, we'll be there in a few minutes." Joe panted as he caught up to Luke. "That's right. Who knows what will be located in this thing…" Luke trailed off as they ran in silence, slowly realizing the consequences of what could happen if he didn't get Joe back in time.

"Where's Luke?" Ally wondered, looking for the boy at the top of the stands. "He swung over the top of the stands and almost was caught by Joe, but I haven't seen him since." Tiffany told the girl from her spot. "Don't worry too much about it. You know Luke, he can handle himself." Michael patted his friend on the back. "That's right. Ravenmon will digivolve in a heartbeat if he needs to." Caninmon chimed in and brought a smile to Ally's face. "I hope the Japanese digidestined are doing well…" Chinchilmon peeked his head out to look at the stands and heard screaming. "That doesn't sound good." Azuremon got out from under the tarp and quickly climbed to the top of the stands, but ducked as a large piece of the stands flew over his head. He decided for his safety to climb back down and to join the others.

"It's not good. Tai's Agumon digivolved into SkullGreymon instead of it's true Ultimate form, and now it's wreaking havoc on the coliseum while the digidestined are still inside of it." Azuremon delivered the grave news. "Is there any way that we can help them?" Kangamon asked. "I don't know, but SkullGreymon is an extremely powerful Ultimate digimon, so our champion forms won't be much help." Azuremon answered. "I hope he runs out of energy soon… That'll make him dedigivolve, right?" Linzi asked Torpedomon. "That's right. The sooner SkullGreymon runs out of energy, the better for them and ourselves."

"Hey, I just realized, I don't even know your name." Joe pointed out as the two reached the temple and began searching for the entrance. "Well, that's true. My name is Luke." Luke sighed and told Joe. "Over here. There's an entrance big enough for us." Joe pointed out, getting back to work. "Let's go on through, then." Ravenmon and Gomamon passed through the entrance first, to check that it was safe. "It's all clear on this side!" Gomamon called through as the two boys crawled through the entrance. "My crest is glowing." Joe noted, as Luke nodded. "The crests must be in here then." "We should get looking then, so you can go help your friends." Luke took the lead with Ravenmon and quickly turned the corner.

"Quickly Joe, you gotta follow him before you have to search this thing by yourself." Gomamon prodded Joe, knowing exactly what to say. "You're right… Let's go, buddy." Joe quickly caught up but was stopped in his tracks by Luke. "Stop. There's something here already." He whispered and glanced around. "What is it?" Joe whispered quietly back, but was shushed. "There… DUCK!" Luke pulled Joe down as an attack just barely missed the duo. "MADNESS BROACH!" Several sharp needles attached to a hand embedded themselves into the ground right in front of the duo. "It's Porcupamon!" Ravenmon gasped and fired off an attack. "FIRE SPRAY!" The fire lit up the massive cavern in front of them and illuminated a human-sized stuffed bear covered in needles that looked positively infuriated.

"Porcupamon isn't supposed to be in the normal digital world! They were banished to the Dark Area because of its cruel nature to other digimon. " Gomamon explained a bit more. "It's a champion level digimon, which is why I think Gomamon needs to digivolve, Joe." Ravenmon dodged another of the angry digimon's attacks. "On it! Ready Gomamon?" Joe grabbed his digivice and Gomamon quickly digivolved. "GOMAMON DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO IKKAKUMON!"

The two digimon faced off as Joe, Ravenmon, and Luke crept around the two to look for the crests. "Quickly, check each side of the cavern." Luke split up from Ravenmon and Joe, who also split up. The cavern shook as Ikkakumon was thrown into the side of it. "Wait, what?" Joe turned around, in shock. "Porcupamon's needles are incredibly painful and powerful…" Ikkakumon groaned and got up again. "HARPOON TORPEDO!" He yelled and hit the ceiling by accident, sending a chunk of the ceiling onto Porcupamon's head. "That should take it out for a bit." Ravenmon chuckled and went back to searching. "Ikkakumon, watch our backs so we don't get surprised by that thing." Joe told his partner, who grunted in acknowledgement.

"Well, that wasn't too tough to find…" Joe blinked as the ceramic tablet came flying at him. "Catch!" Luke laughed quietly. The ceramic tablet shined a dull gray color before disappearing revealing Joe's crest. "It's in the form of a cross…" He held it carefully in his hands. "The Crest of Reliability!" A mysterious voice startled all in the room. Across the room, another tablet appeared directly in front of Luke. His shined a bright red color before disappearing and revealing his crest. His crest's color was bright red, with the pattern being two semi-circles with small circles separating the two semi-circles. 'The Crest of Patience.' The voice chose to speak to him only, and not the entire room.

"GRAH!" Porcupamon stood up and threw the debris on top of it onto Ikkakumon. "SLAP AND RIP!" It charged at Luke. "HIYA! FIRE SPRAY!" Ravenmon stopped the digimon in its tracks by singing off some of the outer needles. "GRAH! MADNESS BROACH!" Porcupamon took Ravenmon down in one hit, sending the rookie digimon spiraling into Luke's arm. "NOW IS THE TIME JOE!" Luke yelled. "RELY ON YOUR PARTNER AND STOP THIS DIGIMON!" He yelled to the terrified Joe. "Nobody's life has ever been in danger here before…" Luke frowned when he heard what the boy had said. "Ever since you kids stepped into this world, you've faced danger at every turn, and what have you done? You've persevered, even against Devimon! You can do it Joe!" Luke braced for impact as Porcupamon leaned in towards Ravenmon and Luke. "IKKAKUMON! YOU'VE GOT TO HIT THE PORCUPAMON'S ZIPPER ON IT'S BACK!" Joe noticed the zipper that was allowing a black substance to slowly fall through.

"YOU GOT IT BOSS! HARPOON TORPEDO!" Ikkakumon fired his powerful attack at the zipper, which suddenly jerked open and swallowed the attack whole. "Huh?" Joe asked, confused. However, as Porcupamon was turned towards Luke, he could see the panic on its face. "JOE! THAT WAS IT! The Harpoon Torpedo went inside of its body and is attacking its main power source!" Luke's smile broadened as Ravenmon nodded weakly. "He's right… Porcupamon knows that it's over now, and he can't do anything about it…" The tired and hurt digimon promptly fell asleep in Luke's arms as the tall boy kicked Porcupamon over, and stood up.

"Alright, now that the stuffed animal is down for the count, we've got to get you back to your friends now. They need your help." Luke patted Joe on the back. "What if I can't help them?" Joe bit his lip, worried again. "Dude, I was about to die, and you didn't choke. You saved me, and that says a lot kiddo. Good luck, and I know we'll meet again someday." Luke smiled and ran out of the pyramid towards his friends, who quickly saw him running towards the tarp. They let him in and he began to explain his story.

"Huh, that was sure weird, right Gomamon?" Joe turned around to his friend. "You can say that again. Now, let's go kick some Greymon butt!" Gomamon and Joe ran out of the pyramid and were stopped in their tracks by the sound of Etemon's screen being thrown backwards. "HURRY! THEY'RE IN TROUBLE!" Joe picked up Gomamon and began sprinting towards the coliseum as Luke overheard him. 'That's right Joe, your friends will need you if you are to ever get through this.' He smiled and turned his attention back to Ravenmon. "Now, are you gonna be okay little guy? You took quite the hit for me." He gave his friend a hug.

"GREYMON DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO SKULLGREYMON!" Greymon's orange body lost all of its flesh and turned to just bones before twisting horridly and developing even larger bones with massive teeth and a cannon on its back. It turned around and swept its tail, sending Garurumon and Tai flying back into the group. "Wait… Is that Greymon?" Tai asked, very concerned. "No! That's SkullGreymon, a very powerful EVIL Ultimate digimon!" Tentomon and Izzy flew up to watch the battle while TK and Mimi stayed farther back with their digimon partners. "Oh… I messed up, didn't I…" Tai sighed and looked at the ground as Sora and Matt surrounded him. "You could say that, I guess."

"GRAH!" SkullGreymon grabbed the other Greymon by its neck and threw it at Etemon's screen. "WOAH!" The Greymon was destroyed quickly by the force, as was the board. "ROAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" SkullGreymon turned to the Digidestined, who quickly grouped together. "NOW!" Izzy yelled as SkullGreymon approached the group. "TENTOMON DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO KABUTERIMON!" The gigantic insect-digimon flew into the sky to join Birdramon as Garurumon ran circles around SkullGreymon. "All together now!" Sora yelled as the three champion-level digimon attacked the Ultimate level SkullGreymon. "ELECTRO-SHOCKER!" "METEOR WING!" "HOWLING BLASTER!" The three attacks struck SkullGreymon at maximum power, and a massive smoke explosion occurred.

"That had to have gotten it weak!" Mimi gasped as she hid TK's eyes. "Mimi, I can look! I'm not that little!" TK pouted as Mimi lifted her hand, only to cover her own mouth as the smoke cleared and SkullGreymon was still standing there, not even phased. "We're in trouble, aren't we?" TK asked Mimi, who quickly ushered the little boy behind her. "I guess so, but we're not down yet!" She put on a brave face and smiled at TK, hoping that Tokomon and Palmon would help her be brave for TK.

"GARURUMON!" Matt yelled as his partner was knocked aside by SkullGreymon. "HOWOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" SkullGreymon turned its attention to Kabuterimon and Birdramon. "BAH!" It fired off two missiles towards the digimon, both of which tried to avoid them, but failed. "BIRDRAMON!" Sora yelled as she ran to her falling digimon. "KABUTERIMON! HANG IN THERE!" Izzy yelled as Kabuterimon fell to the ground. "GARURUMON!" Matt gasped again as SkullGreymon quickly forced Garurumon to dedigivolve into Gabumon. "HAAAAARG!" The evil ultimate turned its head in Matt's direction. "NO!" SkullGreymon was distracted by another voice coming into play. "Tai, what are you doing? You're hurt!" Mimi yelled at him. "SKULLGREYMON CAN'T HURT ME!" He yelled as his theory was promptly proved wrong by SkullGreymon's tail smacking the holder of the crest of bravery away from the group. "That's gonna leave a mark." Palmon winced as Tai hit the ground.

"HEY! SKULLGREYMON! WHY DON'T YOU PICK ON SOMEONE YOUR SIZE?" TK turned around to see Joe and Ikkakumon standing at the entrance to the coliseum. "HARPOON TORPEDO!" Ikkakumon distracted SkullGreymon with its attack, buying the other digidestined enough time to get away. "Sorry I'm late. I got my crest though, so it was fully worth it." Joe decided not to mention Luke, just in case the others might want to go looking for him rather than the crests. "The Crest of Reliability." He told the group, as TK giggled. "Well, that sure was good timing! I knew we could rely on you to help us, Joe!" TK smiled and gave the older boy a quick hug. "Thanks TK. That means a lot." Joe smiled back and turned to SkullGreymon. "Now, who's ready to give this bad boy a run for his money?" He asked, confidently.

"There you go, Joe. Believe in yourself." Luke quietly whispered as the American digidestined watched from behind pieces of the coliseum. "You really helped him out then, didn't you?" Michael asked. "That's right. I guess it didn't take much." Luke smiled and laughed quietly as Ikkakumon led the charge to weaken SkullGreymon while Sora and Mimi tended to Tai.

"HEY! LOOK!" Izzy gasped as SkullGreymon shined a bright yellow color and dedigivolved into Koromon, Agumon's in-training form. "He's not SkullGreymon or Agumon…" Matt stared at Koromon, wondering what had happened. "That's right Matt. He used up all of his energy, so he returned to his in-training state to rest up. He's all friendly again, so no worries." Biyomon, who had just dedigivolved herself, explained to the group. "I hope something like that never happens again…" Tentomon sighed as he landed on the ground near Izzy. "I concur immensely. I don't know how much longer we could've held SkullGreymon off." Izzy frowned and picked up Koromon. "He's very lethargic. We should probably try to get into the shade so that he feels better."

"There you go guys… Until we meet again." Tiffany sighed quietly as she watched the Japanese digidestined walk out of the coliseum and back into the desert. "I hope Tai's okay." Chinchilmon frowned. "Don't worry. When I was his age, I was pretty resilient, so I'm sure he'll be fine." Jacob smiled and patted Caninmon on the head. "Yeah, he'll be just fine." Kangamon gave Chinchilmon a quick hug. "We should keep going so we don't lose them." Azuremon spoke up, and Torpedomon nodded. "Now would be a really bad time to lose them, I suppose." Linzi smiled and quickly started folding up the tarp. "Well, here's to another crazy adventure with these digidestined!" Ally giggled and helped her as they followed the Japanese digidestined further into the desert.


	12. A Boat Out of Water!

Disclaimer! I do not own any of this with the exception of the American digidestined and their partners!

Everything else belongs to Saban

Hope you enjoy!

Chapter 12

"Tai, is Koromon gonna be okay?" TK asked Tai, who cradled Koromon in his arms. "Honestly TK, I'm not so sure. I messed up big time…" Tai sighed and looked behind him at the rest of the group, who avoided eye contact. He sighed and looked ahead again. "Hey, I wouldn't worry too much Tai! I know they'll come around. Everybody makes mistakes." TK cheerfully smiled at Tai and gave him a quick hug. "That's right TK. I really appreciate you saying that." Tai smiled melancholy and glanced at Koromon again. 'Please be okay little guy… I'm so sorry for doing that to you…'

"Looks like everyone seems to be ignoring Tai except for TK." Linzi frowned. "That's not fair of them. They know that people make mistakes from time to time." Kangamon pouted and hopped around Ally. "That's right. Mistakes don't make you a bad person. They simply make you human." Ally said and looked up at the sky. "I'm kinda surprised that they aren't stopping for the night yet." Tiffany turned around and glanced up. "Well, when we were at the coliseum, it was only about midday. It couldn't have been too long." Luke squinted at the sky to try to find the sun. "Well, she might be thinking that because there's a bit of shade over there." Azuremon pondered. "A bit? It's a GIANT CACTUS!" Chinchilmon's eyes widened comically and Michael began to laugh at the expression on his friend's face. "Relax. It's probably just a mirage." Jacob was realistic and pointed out the shimmering of the cactus.

"IT'S A GIANT CACTUS!" Palmon shrieked and began running toward it at full speed. "WAIT FOR ME PALMON!" Mimi yelled as she followed her partner. "SHADE!" TK cheered and followed the two girls. "Wait up guys! It might not be safe!" Matt yelled and he and Gabumon followed the group with Izzy, Sora, Tentomon, and Biyomon behind him, leaving Tai at the back of the pack. "Koromon, please, hang in there… There's gotta be some way I can help…" Tai sighed and sped up to try to reach the others. "Guys, wait! It's simply a mirage! A phenomena that can quite literally create anything in front of you if it's hot enough." Izzy burst their bubble and sent them back into the world of realism.

"Are you sure, Izzy? It looks very real to me." Palmon sighed and waited for the group to catch up. "It's not there anymore, so what else could it be?" Biyomon tested the area where the mirage was and found that it was indeed not there. "There's got to be shade around here somewhere! The digital world may be a rough place to live in, but there's always shelter, water, and food." Tentomon, clearly puzzled, flew up a bit and began looking for any sign of life. "There's quite literally nothing for miles around." Tokomon frowned and nudged TK's hat from where he sat on top of TK's head. "That's right. There's been nothing around here forever and I'm getting thirsty!" TK frowned and wiped the sweat off of his forehead.

"It's so hot guys. They must be dying, and there's literally no relief in sight." Torpedomon sighed dramatically before plopping on the ground. "Come on girl. You can make it until we find shade." Linzi helped Torpedomon up and continued onwards. "It surely can't be too much farther." Caninmon panted tiredly as he plodded on next to Jacob. "I'm sorry I don't cast more of a shadow, buddy." Jacob patted Caninmon on the head as he passed his partner. "It's fine, I'll manage somehow." Caninmon woofed quietly. 'This is not good. Everyone is tired and there's literally no water in sight.' Tiffany glanced around again and looked at her empty bottle that would normally hold water. "Tiffany, there is a presence coming. It may not be friendly, but it will allow us to take shelter, so there's that." Azuremon sensed her discomfort and worry and sought to reassure her. "Well, I'll take just about anything at this point." She sighed and gave her friend a quick hug. "Ally and Michael won't last much longer, despite what they say." Luke came up next to her, with Ravenmon on his head. "Look. They're already dragging." Ally and Michael were using each other as supports. "It doesn't help that Michael has eaten nearly nothing and given his portion to Ally." Ravenmon chimed in.

"Keep going guys. There's got to be shade around here somewhere…" Matt sighed and glanced over to TK. "You doing alright?" He asked his little brother, who shook his head sleepily. "I'm really tired…" "Hang in there little buddy." Matt glanced behind the group and was shocked by what he saw. "HEY GUYS! I HATE TO BE THE BEARER OF BAD NEWS BUT THERE'S A GIANT SHIP ABOUT TO RUN INTO US!" Gabumon perked up, grabbed TK and Tokomon, and moved out of the way of the ship. "HURRY! GET OUT OF THE WAY!" Sora yelled, hurrying Mimi and Izzy ahead of her while Tai, Matt, and Joe made up the rear. "It looks like it's stopping!" Mimi yelled and smiled. "I wonder if they have supplies for us. Maybe supplies from Gennai!" Joe began drooling at the thought of food. "What I wouldn't give for a good hamburger right now, and maybe good internet connection!" Izzy smiled as Joe facepalmed at the boy's obsession with electronics.

"Look at that ship! It just popped out of nowhere!" Jacob gasped as Michael and Ally collapsed to the ground. "Quick! Luke, Tiffany, help me get them to the ship." Linzi took charge as Azuremon, Tiffany, and Luke along with Torpedomon helped pick up Michael and Ally. "Quickly. We've got to move fast if we're going to get them any help at all, even if it's just some air conditioning or a cold shower." Caninmon barked as he and Jacob ran ahead of the group to make sure that the Japanese digidestined were heading into the ship first.

"That's right digidestined… Right into my trap." A giant rooster glared at the two groups of digidestined entering the boats from a glass room. "Etemon will be so pleased to know that I have you in my feathers!" He started cackling as a Numemon entered the room. "Sir, the digidestined have entered onto the boat and have begun relaxing! We are at your command." He fell to the ground trembling as the digimon cackled happily again. "THEY SHOULD NEVER UNDERESTIMATE KOKATORIMON!" The rooster digimon turned around and accidentally stepped on the Numemon. "GACK!" The poor slime digimon screamed as it disappeared into digital data.

"OH! THERE'S FOOD!" Tokomon began cackling and running towards the giant buffet table as TK followed his friend. "TK! Wait up!" Matt followed his little brother and Gabumon followed Matt. "Well, I say that I am going to eat as well before I attempt to connect to the internet service here." Izzy sat down quickly at the table and began piling his plate up with food. "This should be wonderful!" Tentomon excitedly buzzed as the girls separated from Joe and Tai. "I'm going to take a hot shower!" Mimi declared as the girls and their partners walked up the steps into some of the rooms. "This will be the best bath I've ever had!" Biyomon smiled and quickly flew into one of the "Girl-only" Rooms.

"If we get him into one of the "Guy-only" rooms, than Tiffany and I will take care of Ally." Linzi quickly but quietly ordered the boys as they snuck aboard the gigantic ship. "Move quietly and quickly, and make sure that the digidestined don't see you." Jacob whispered to Luke as they hoisted Michael over their shoulders and moved quickly into one of the rooms, where they found a bathroom in the back. "I guess we gotta undress him to cool him down." Luke sighed and Jacob looked away. "Is there like a bathrobe in here?" He looked around the room and saw a soft-looking bathrobe hanging on the door to the bathroom. "That's wonderfully convenient." He laughed a bit.

"Ally, we're gonna put you in a cool bath now, okay? If you can hear us, just relax, and we'll get you in tip-top shape in no time." Tiffany quickly took off Ally's clothes and carried her gently over to the cool bath that Linzi had set up. "Where's the faucet? She needs water." Linzi grabbed a cup and filled it up with cool water, and began slowly giving Ally small sips. "Don't worry sweetie, you'll be all good in a few hours." Tiffany smiled and turned away from the two girls. "I wonder if there's a laundry service here." "Now, that would be a real treat." Linzi giggled and got a smile from Ally. "Oh hey, look! She's coming to!" Tiffany turned back around and kneeled next to Linzi outside of the tub.

"Ah…. It's so nice to have a full belly!" Tentomon buzzed about. "Food is so yummy! I'd even eat broccoli if I got that hungry again!" TK cheered at his empty plate. "TK, what's broccoli?" Tokomon asked, still not having any idea what the vegetable was. "Hopefully, you won't have to eat again in the Digital World, kiddo." Matt ruffled TK's hair. "Now, it's time to connect to this place's internet connection." Izzy pulled out his laptop and began searching for any wireless connection. "Hm… How strange." He muttered as a message appeared on his screen. "What is it, Izzy?" Tentomon asked. "A message just appeared on the screen and it's not letting me exit out of it, nor is it telling me who it's from." Izzy clicked to open the message.

"Sora, I've never had a shower before!" Biyomon looked alarmed at the water coming out of the showerhead. "Don't worry about it Biyo. It's really easy to get a hold of!" Sora smiled at her partner as she washed her hair. "That's right! This place even has all of my expensive hair products!" Mimi smiled as she applied conditioner to her hair. "Well, if anything, this water is great for my roots." Palmon sat in the corner, soaking up the excess water. "Thanks for that Palmon! I don't want to get my feathers too wet." Biyomon smiled at her friend. "Oh, it's nothing." Palmon waved it off. Out of nowhere, the girls heard a high-pitched shriek that startled the group. "What was that?" Sora asked. "I don't know, but it didn't sound good!" Mimi agreed. "Let's get out of here." Palmon and Biyomon told their partners. "That's right. We don't want to get caught here naked!" Mimi giggled as the girls grabbed a towel and their clothes. Before they could get too far though, a Numemon wearing a captain's hat appeared in front of them.

Tai and Joe took their digimon out to the massive pool. "Gomamon, go ahead and have some fun in the pool. You deserve to relax for a bit." Joe smiled at his partner, who happily obliged. "Koromon, are you gonna be okay with some food in you?" Tai asked his partner, who was munching on some snacks. "Mhm. You caf puf me on feh fael!" "I'm going to guess that you asked me to put you on the table next to the pool, and sure." Tai smiled at his partner, who was vigorously nodding his head. "Alright, that'll work then." Tai smiled and deposited his partner on the covered table. "I'm gonna go rest in the sun for a bit, if that's all good." Tai told Joe, who was watching Gomamon play in the pool. "Go for it. This is our only time to relax in a while, so we've got to make the most of it." Joe smiled at Tai. "Thanks…" Tai looked away and quickly ran over to a chair. "Hey Gomamon, can you come here for a second?" Joe asked. "Sure!" Gomamon swam up to the side of the pool. "We've got to be here for Tai. The rest of the group is kinda ostracizing him, and that's not fair." Joe whispered quickly. "That's right. Tai's helped us get out of many tricky situations, so it's only fair for us to help him now." Gomamon smiled. "Thanks buddy. Alright, you're all good now." Joe told his friend. "Oh, are you now?" Another voice came from high above them.

"Hey, did you guys hear that?" Jacob asked Luke and the slowly coming to Michael. "That scream? You bet. Hard to miss it." Michael groaned as he ate the bar of chocolate that Luke had sneaked out of the fridge downstairs while Jacob had watched Michael. "I wonder what it was…" Luke wondered as the ship began to shake. "I don't know, but I think we should get out of here, right guys?" Chinchilmon shuddered as Ravenmon and Caninmon stared at the door, waiting for something to burst in.

"Ally, are you feeling better?" Tiffany helped the girl stand up. "Oh yeah, I'll be good for a while." Ally smiled as she hugged Linzi. "Thank you for taking care of me, girls." "It's no problem. You're our friend, Ally, and that's what friends do." Linzi smiled. "We should go find the guys." Tiffany's smile vanished as she too, heard the scream. "Let's get a move on. Come on Kangamon." Ally began walking to the door. "Tiffany, I sense the presence of another of Etemon's Dark Network wires." Azuremon, unusually quiet up until this point, spoke up. "We need to go destroy it then!" Torpedomon eagerly followed Ally and Kangamon. "Alright, let's go then."

"What is it, Caninmon?" Jacob asked his partner. "I smell the girls and Azuremon. They're on the move towards us. They must've heard the scream too." Caninmon began following the halls to the girls. "Well, I guess we should follow them then." Michael used the walls as supports and started heading down the halls with Caninmon. "I guess we follow." Luke shrugged and let Ravenmon land on his shoulder before following the others. "Hey, why is there even a ship in the desert in the first place?" Jacob questioned to himself before realizing that the others had left him. "Hey, WAIT UP!" He yelled as he ran down the hallway after Luke and Michael.

"TAI!" Koromon yelled as Kokatorimon jumped over the edge of the balcony above them. "HAH! DID YOU DIGIDESTINED REALLY THINK YOU COULD GET AWAY FROM ME THAT EASILY?" The rooster-like digimon yelled as Koromon and Gomamon prepared to battle. "Koromon digivolve tooooooooo Agumon!" Tai's partner digivolved back into his Rookie form. "Hey! Agumon! There we go!" Tai cheered. "NOT FOR LONG! Your little digimon friends will become useless to you very soon!" Kokatorimon growled. "Who do you think you are, anyways!" Gomamon yelled at the digimon. "MY name is Kokatorimon! I am one of King Etemon's powerful followers, and I will deliver all of you to him!" "Not if we can help it!" Agumon fired off an attack at the digimon. "Pepper breath!" "Hah! Useless!"

"PETRA FIRE!" Kokatorimon's eyes shined red and entranced Agumon and Gomamon. "Now, watch as I perform my most magical trick of all!" Kokatorimon flapped his wings and a red beam came out of both of his eyes. "Turning digimon to stone!" He yelled as the smoke cleared and stone statues of Agumon and Gomamon were revealed. "Hey! What did you do to them?!" Joe yelled. "I turned them to stone." Kokatorimon simply stated. "I'd turn you into stone, but I need you alive for Etemon." Kokatorimon turned around and jumped up. "Where do you think you're going?!" Tai yelled angrily. "Getting your friends." Kokatorimon smirked and jumped away to another part of the ship. "Hm… We've got to warn them." Joe ran into the ship again, determined to find the other digidestined. "Wait for me, Joe!" Tai ran after the older boy, who was trying to carry Gomamon while Tai carried Agumon.

"Izzy, what does the message say?" Gabumon repeated. "It says to look up…" Izzy did so, and was shocked by what he saw. "WATCH OUT GUYS!" He pushed back his chair and jumped back as the group in the buffet room heard crashing noises. "Something is coming through the ceiling!" TK yelled as Matt protected his little brother from the debris. "Don't worry, I've got you." He smiled as a particularly piece of wood embedded itself in the wood right in front of him. "Woah… That was close." Tentomon breathed a sigh of relief. "We're not quite out of the woods yet, Tentomon. Whatever is crashing through the ceiling hasn't made it to our floor yet." Izzy warned his partner. "THAT'S RIGHT!" Tokomon screamed as Kokatorimon tore through the ceiling to reach the group of digidestined in the buffet room.

"Who are you?" TK yelled as Kokatorimon grinned evilly. "Don't worry TK, I'll protect you!" Tokomon jumped in front of TK and readied himself to attack. "Hah! You won't even get the chance to attack!" Matt gasped as Kokatorimon's eyes began to glow red again. "Kokatorimon takes no prisoners! Petra Fire!" The two red beams appeared again and enveloped Tentomon, Tokomon, and Gabumon. "What are you doing to them?" Izzy demanded. "You'll find out in a little bit!" Kokatorimon cackled and crowed. "They've been turned to stone!" Tai and Joe ran into the room, breathing heavily. "What?!" TK gasped and saw that they were right when the smoke cleared. "HEY! YOU BIG MEANY! TURN THEM BACK TO NORMAL RIGHT NOW!" TK began sniffling. "How about… NO!" Kokatorimon threw a feather at TK, fully expecting the little boy to scream. "TK, watch out!" Matt pushed the boy to the ground as the surprisingly sharp feather cut through the wood of the ship.

"I'd stay longer, but I've got two more to nab! Goodbye digidestined, and I hope you like Etemon!" Kokatorimon jumped up through the hole in the ceiling and vanished from view. "We've got to find Mimi and Sora!" Izzy exclaimed. "Somebody should stay here with the digimon though, because we can't carry them all." Joe pointed out. "Joe, how about you, Matt, and TK stay here with the digimon. Izzy and I will go find the girls." Tai reentered his role as the leader of the group. "Got it. Go, before Kokatorimon finds them." Matt nodded and turned to TK. "It's gonna be okay kiddo, we'll get Tokomon back, okay?" He gave TK a hug.

"Numemon, what are you doing here?" Mimi gasped and covered herself even more. "I came here to warn you guys! An evil digimon named Kokatorimon who works for Etemon is turning all of the digimon on the ship into stone, and he wants to take you to Etemon! You've got to get out of here!" Numemon quickly explained. "Thank you Numemon, but we don't know the ship at all! How do we get out of here?" Sora glanced around them. "If we can get you out to the deck, your digimon will be able to digivolve and defeat Kokatorimon!" Numemon began running down another hallway. "This way!" He yelled as Sora, Mimi, and their partners followed him.

"If you follow this hallway down until you reach the junction, just take the right path, and it'll lead you to the big pool!" Numemon yelled as he heard Kokatorimon coming. "I'll try to hold of Kokatorimon as long as I can." Mimi smiled at him. "Thank you, Numemon! Be careful!" The girls ran down the hallway as fast as they could to the junction as Numemon blushed. "She thanked me!" He yelled happily as he stopped Kokatorimon from following the girls.

"Numemon! WHERE ARE THE GIRLS?" Kokatorimon shrieked at the digimon. "I don't know, master… I've only seen the boys…" Numemon cowered beneath the rooster-digimon. "Don't make me force it out of you! I can smell their scent on you!" Kokatorimon stepped on Numemon. "I TRIED GIRLS!" He yelled before Kokatorimon destroyed the slimy digimon. "That'll teach him to mess with me!" Kokatorimon squawked as he followed the scent of the girls.

"We made it to the pool!" Sora sighed in relief. "Now, where are the others?" Biyomon flew up. "NOT SO FAST!" Kokatorimon burst out onto the deck right behind them. "NOW BIYOMON!" Sora yelled as Biyomon began to digivolve. "BIYOMON DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO BIRDRAMON!" Birdramon flew up into the sky and glared at Kokatorimon. "METEOR WING!" She fired off her powerful attack at Kokatorimon, who took the hit without breaking a sweat. "What? How did he just absorb that attack like it was nothing?" Mimi gasped. "Palmon, you better go help!" She exclaimed as Palmon nodded. "PALMON DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO TOGEMON!"

Togemon stood up proudly as Sora and Mimi hid behind the two champion digimon. "ARE YOU READY FOR SOME NEEDLE SPRAY?" Togemon hollered as she unleashed her attack. "Hah! Nothing more than an annoyance!" Kokatorimon took that attack as well. "How is he just taking these attacks like they're nothing?" Mimi wondered. "Look behind him! He has a part of Etemon's dark network attached to him!" Togemon yelled as she took a hit from Kokatorimon. "AGH!" She fell back, but stopped herself from falling onto the two girls.

"Tiffany, is that you?" Michael saw the girls running towards them. "Quick! Come this way!" Azuremon dragged Tiffany down another hallway and Michael followed, as did Ally. "You guys stay there in case Kokatorimon appears!" Tiffany called back to Luke, Linzi, and Jacob. "Got it! Be careful guys!" Jacob yelled back. "We will, don't worry!" Ally smiled as Kangamon and Chinchilmon followed the trio.

"Here it is. We've got to destroy this." Azuremon pointed to the cargo room, where a large stretch of Etemon's Dark Network lay. "You ready, Chinchilmon?" Michael asked his partner. "Yep! Never been more ready!" Chinchilmon smiled. "Hey, you help out too Kangamon!" Ally laughed and Kangamon nodded, looking determined. "CHINCHILMON DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO TRILEPTIMON!" "KANGAMON DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO TUNIPYMON!" The two champion level digimon landed on their feet and attacked the stretch of the Dark Network. "NOW!" Azuremon yelled. "'ASTIRE SLASH!" "GROUND PUMMELER!" The two powerful attacks struck the pieces of Dark Network, which fell to pieces under the pressure of the attacks.

"There we go!" Tiffany cheered. "That's how we do this." Azuremon nodded as Trileptimon and Tunipymon dedigivolved back into Chinchilmon and Kangamon respectively. "Thanks guys!" Chinchilmon landed on Michael's shoulder as he thanked the little digimon. "Yeah, you did so well!" Ally gave Kangamon a hug. "Aw, thanks! We're happy to help." Kangamon smiled back. "Let's get back to the others now." Tiffany suggested.

"WHAT?! SOMEONE DISABLED MY PART OF THE DARK NETWORK?!" Kokatorimon screamed. "Wait, he had part of the Dark Network attached to him? EW!" Mimi yelled as they saw Kokatorimon writhing in pain. "Now's your chance guys!" Sora yelled to their partners. "NOW TOGEMON!" Birdramon. "I HEARD YOU LIKED MY NEEDLE SPRAY!" Togemon fired off another attack. "HIYAH! METEOR WING!" The fiery attack enveloped Togemon's Needle Spray, creating a combo-style attack that struck Kokatorimon at full speed. "HEEEEEEEEEEEEY! NO FAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIR!" Kokatorimon was blasted into the air and into the smokestack at the top of the ship. "That should take care of him!" Mimi cheered. "We should probably get some clothes on, and then find the others." Right as Sora said that, Tai and Izzy ran out onto the deck. "Hey boys! We defeated that nasty Kokatorimon for you." Birdramon and Togemon dedigivolved

Back with the other guys in the buffet room, Izzy, Tai, Sora, and Mimi quickly made it to the other group. "Hey guys! I'm sorry we couldn't help more against that nasty digimon!" Agumon gave Tai a hug. "It's okay little buddy. You tried your best. Thankfully, Sora and Mimi along with Biyomon and Palmon were able to defeat it. Let's get off of this darn boat." Tai smiled at his friend. "Alright everyone, time to head back into the desert!" Sora, fully dressed, exclaimed cheerfully. "Alright everyone! Let's go!" Mimi cheered as the group headed off the ship.

"Hey, I think they left the ship everyone." Ally notified the group. "That's right. We should probably try to get a move on too, then." Tiffany led the group to the entrance of the ship. "We've got to be careful, as always, to make sure they don't see us." Azuremon reminded the group. "That's right! If we need to, we still have the tarp, so we can always use that." Linzi smiled. "Alright everyone, head out!" Michael exclaimed and the group walked off of the boat and into the blazing desert sun again. They waited until the Japanese digidestined were far enough away before beginning to follow them at an angle. "Hopefully, all of them are doing just fine." Torpedomon voiced her concern. "I know they'll be okay. They're tough cookies, so they'll do just fine." Linzi reassured her worried partner.

They had only been traveling for a short time when they felt the rumbling underneath them. "Everyone, stay alert!" Luke shouted as both the American and Japanese digidestined fell to the ground to search for some kind of stability. "LOOK! IT'S KOKATORIMON'S BOAT!" The American digidestined heard one of the Japanese digidestined yell. "Quick, everyone! Over here!" Tiffany dragged the American digidestined out of the way of the boat, while the Japanese digidestined panicked. "Something's got to be powering that boat! There's no way it could be working otherwise!" Jacob realized, and exclaimed. "Look for Etemon's Dark Network again, guys! There's not much time left." Caninmon used his highly precise eyes to stare down the boat and look for the Dark Network.

"THERE! WE CAN TAKE SHELTER BEHIND THE CACTUS!" Palmon yelled as the Japanese digidestined saw Kokatorimon's boat speed up and get closer. "It might still be a mirage!" Izzy yelled as the Japanese digidestined ran towards the massive cactus that was bigger than the boat. "We've got to try Izzy, otherwise, we'll all die!" Tentomon scolded his lack of faith. "HURRY!" Mimi picked up Tokomon for TK and the two sped up.

"There! They're taking shelter behind a massive cactus." Chinchilmon pinpointed the Japanese digidestined. "They'll be safe there." Kangamon smiled. "Watch how fast the ship is going though, it'll tear right through the cactus." Jacob tried to be realistic. "Something tells me that this is no ordinary cactus." Azuremon smiled and kneeled to the ground for better support in the slippery sand. The American Digidestined watched as the ship crashed into the giant cactus. "Wait… It's bending!" Kangamon exclaimed in shock. "My theory was right." Azuremon smiled and stood, watching the giant cactus bend backwards, hooking the ship onto it. "LOOK! There's a section of the Dark Network!" Michael pointed to the back of the boat. "It looks like it's going to snap at any second!" Torpedomon cheered. Like she said, the Dark Network snapped and the ship was thrown far into the air.

"THERE IT GOES!" Gabumon cheered as the ship didn't come down. "Woah! That was really impressive!" Izzy remarked as TK and Tokomon celebrated. "Wait, what's that?" Mimi pointed to the end of the cactus, which had retreated back down again. "It looks like one of those tablet things that my crest was in." Tai looked at the ceramic tablet with wide eyes. "This one has two crests on it though. Who do they belong to?" Sora wondered. The tablet began shining a green and pink color. From the green color, a dark green crest appeared with a light green teardrop design on it. From the pink color, a light pink crest that had a strange darker pink design on it appeared. The design almost looked like a question mark, except with the space between the end of the question mark and the main portion filled it.

The green crest floated in front of Mimi and shined even brighter. "The Crest of Sincerity." A mysterious voice floated through the air as the Crest of Sincerity plugged itself into Mimi's tag. "Really? For me?" A small tear fell out of the corner of her eye. "What about the other crest?" Matt glanced at it. However, before any of them could say anything else, the other crest sped into the distance, seemingly at an unknown force before disappearing.

Ally looked up in shock as the pink crest appeared in front of her. 'The Crest of Kindness.' The same voice from before floated into her mind, letting Ally know what her crest stood for. The pink crest fit perfectly into her tag. "Ally, what was that?" Michael asked his friend. "It was my crest… The Crest of Kindness is what it said." She looked shocked. "That's so like you." Michael smiled and gave her a hug. "Um, I hate to break up the love fest right now guys, but the Japanese Digidestined are heading our way. We've got to get under cover, now." Jacob pointed out the Japanese digidestined walking towards the American Digidestined looking for Ally's crest. "We've got to hurry guys!"

And so, the Japanese and American digidestined survive another harrowing encounter with one of Etemon's henchmen! However, with danger on the horizon, how much longer can their streak of luck last?


	13. Two Digimon and a Hologram!

Disclaimer! I do not own any of this with the exception of the American digidestined and their partners!

Everything else belongs to Saban

Hope you enjoy!

Chapter 13

Short Author's Note: If you want to learn what happens to the Japanese digidestined during the next two chapters, the Digimon Adventure Season 1 Episode 18: The Piximon Cometh! Is here for you.  
End Author's Note:

"Come on guys, look! There's a pool of water over there! If we can make it there, then we'll be fine!" Tai took the lead again with Agumon. "We better hurry; otherwise TK is going to collapse at any moment." Matt urged the group to move faster. "Well, let me carry Tokomon TK, so you can save your energy." Sora took TK's friend from his arms and let Tokomon ride on her head. "Thanks Sora…" The exhausted TK nearly collapsed there if it weren't for Mimi and Joe catching him. "Let me carry you for a bit too, TK." Joe picked up the small boy and placed him on his back, where he promptly fell asleep. "Aww, that's so cute!" Mimi smiled and fingered her crest.

"We're almost there everyone, keep going!" Gabumon pushed Palmon in front of him. "No time for stopping now Palmon, you'll be able to soak your roots over there." The flying Biyomon used the gusts from her wings to try to cool off Palmon and Gabumon. "Gomamon, once you get to the pool, you'll be able to go swimming again!" Agumon cheered and Gomamon smiled wickedly. "So I finally get to splash everyone again!" He laughed and used Joe as a shield to protect himself from the glares of Agumon and Biyomon. "Hey, admit it, you liked the coolness of the water." Gomamon stuck his tongue out at the duo.

"Izzy, are you sure that we're following the path to the next crests?" Tentomon asked his partner, puzzled as they headed through another large section of desert. "We simply have to be. Our digivices haven't lied to us so far when it comes to the crests." Izzy pointed out. "I suppose you're right, but I have a bad feeling about this…" Tentomon buzzed ahead a bit and saw nothing but desert. "There doesn't seem to be anything in front of us." Mimi noticed it as well. "Well, all we can do is keep going to the water pool." Palmon sighed and began falling behind again before Agumon pushed her forward.

"Look at them. They're really hurting because of this heat." Michael, who wasn't doing too well himself, frowned as he watched the group struggle. "Is there any way that we can help them out?" Linzi asked the group. "Not unless you want me to digivolve and start sending streams of water over them." Torpedomon quickly shot down those dreams. "Hey, it's all good guys. We know that they've been through worse situations than this. Things always work out." Tiffany reassured her friends. "She's right. Every time we think that they get knocked down, they always pop right back up. They've got a resilience that very few people or digimon have." Azuremon got a hug from Tiffany after that. Michael nodded. "I still feel bad for them." He laughed quietly. "Don't worry, so do I!" Chinchilmon climbed up Michael's shoulder and rested his head on the side of Michael's head.

"Everyone, GET DOWN!" Caninmon yelled as they all quickly dropped. "What is it, Caninmon?" Jacob asked his partner. "Get under the tarp now." Linzi saw what Caninmon had been talking about. "Look, in the sky. It's a Kuwagamon." Kangamon gasped in fright, but relaxed a little bit when Ally hugged her. "It didn't see us, but the other digidestined don't know what's happening at all." Torpedomon frowned. "They'll be fine, they can all digivolve, and Kuwagamon is only a champion level digimon." Ravenmon pointed out as the Japanese digidestined noticed the Kuwagamon heading right at them. "They need to be careful though. We can't exactly reveal our position to help them out when Etemon is watching their every move." Luke noted as Tai took charge and began ordering the Japanese digidestined around while Agumon and the other Rookie digimon prepared themselves for the confrontation.

"FOLLOW MY LEAD! PEPPER BREATH!" Agumon started off the attack as Biyomon, Tentomon, and Gabumon fired their attacks while Palmon used her vines to immobilize Kuwagamon. The attacks hit the champion level digimon, who momentarily flinched. "GRAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Tai shielded his eyes from the swirling sand as Kuwagamon flapped it's wings to distract the digimon. "EVERYONE! ATTACK ALL AT ONCE!" Agumon fired off another Pepper Breath as the other digimon were knocked to the side. "PALMON!" Mimi shrieked as Palmon landed next to the water pool. "GOMAMON!" Joe reached out and caught his partner before Gomamon landed on the hot sand. "Gabumon, are you okay?" Matt ran up to his fallen partner. "Hang in there, Biyomon!" Sora quickly picked up her friend and brought her to safety.

"AGUMON! YOU'VE GOT TO DIGIVOLVE!" Tai yelled over Kuwagamon's annoyed screeches. Agumon looked worried for a moment. "You got this buddy!" Tai cheered on his friend as the other digidestined watched, waiting for the digivolution. "Here, Izzy! Let me give it a try!" Tentomon tried to fly up again from where he sat on the ground, but collapsed midflight. "Tentomon, no! You have no energy. Agumon's the only one who managed to dodge the attack and stay unharmed." Izzy dragged Tentomon to the ground again as he tried to fly up. "Agumon, what's the matter buddy?" Tai asked, knowing deep inside what the matter was.

"Why isn't Agumon digivolving?" Ally asked from the American digidestined's position. "I'm not sure, but he's got to soon, otherwise they're about to become one hungry Kuwagamon's dinner…" Kangamon frowned. "I wonder…" Azuremon muttered under his breath. "What is it buddy?" Tiffany asked her partner. "I think Agumon is afraid of digivolving now." Azuremon told her. "Why do you say that?" Luke asked Azuremon. "He has a valid point. The last time Agumon digivolved into a level higher than Rookie, he digivolved into SkullGreymon." Ravenmon pointed out. "It's certainly very plausible that Agumon's fear of SkullGreymon is large enough to prevent him from digivolving." Michael mused. "If that's the case, then they're in trouble." Jacob frowned and looked at his digivice. "As much as I don't want to reveal us, if Agumon's not going to digivolve, one of us is going to have to help them." Linzi put that out there. "Revealing ourselves is much better than one of them dying." Chinchilmon nodded and agreed.

"AGUMON!" Tai yelled as his partner was thrown back by the force of Kuwagamon's attack. "Are you okay buddy?" Tai ran to his partner, who was lying on the ground, unable to move. "Ugh… I'm sorry Tai…" Agumon muttered as Kuwagamon stood over the group and roared triumphantly. "Oh, I can't watch!" Mimi yelled and turned away. "TK…" Matt muttered, holding his brother protectively. "There must be something I can do…" Izzy pattered out on his computer while Tentomon lay on the ground, exhausted. "Oh no!" Gomamon glared up at Kuwagamon as Joe shut his eyes and hoped for the best. "SOMEONE HELP UUUUUUUUS!" TK and Tokomon yelled at the top of their lungs. The Japanese digidestined cowered in terror as Kuwagamon began to lower his pincers towards Tai and Agumon. "AHHHHHHHHH!" The two yelled.

"NOT SO FAST YOU IDIOTIC DIGIMON!" A tiny pink blob came hurling out of nowhere and knocked Kuwagamon onto its side. "DIGIDESTINED! GET UP! WE'VE GOT TO GET TO A SAFE PLACE!" The pink, fairy-lookalike began to herd the Japanese digidestined away from the angry Kuwagamon. "GRAAAAAH!" Kuwagamon stood up again as the pink digimon picked up Tokomon and TK so they would move faster. "EVERYONE! THIS WAY!" The Japanese digidestined looked shocked, but followed their savior farther away than the American digidestined could see. "We've got to hurry if we're going to get away from that angry insect!"

"Where are they going?" Michael gasped as the pink digimon led them away from the Kuwagamon. "Oh my gosh… I am in the presence of digital royalty…" Torpedomon's jaw dropped. "Who is that?" Linzi asked her partner. "It is none other than Pixiemon, one of the most powerful Ultimate digimon in the digital world." Azuremon looked to the sky. "The Digital Mother is truly protecting us." He muttered too softly for the group to hear. "Oh wow! That's really impressive!" Ally giggled. "We've still got to follow them though. We can't afford to lose them now." Tiffany began to stand up from their position in the sand. "Get down!" Luke pulled her back down just in time for Kuwagamon to fly over their tarp. "GRAAAAAAAAH!"

"GREAT! Now he's mad at us!" Chinchilmon cowered. "Don't worry. Ravenmon and I will take care of this overgrown insect." Luke smiled at his partner. "That's right! We'll take care of it real quick!" Ravenmon and Luke rolled out of the tarp and glared up at the Kuwagamon. "You ready?" He asked Ravenmon. "You betcha!" As Ravenmon flew towards Kuwagamon, who was making a return trip, Luke's digivice began to glow. "RAVENMON DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO TOUCAMON!"

The toucan-looking digimon cawed at Kuwagamon, who veered off course to avoid running into Toucamon. "YEAH! HOW ABOUT THIS?" Toucamon began to attack. "FIERY WING!" The powerful fire attack struck Kuwagamon and threw it backwards. "THERE YOU GO TOUCAMON! He wasn't expecting a fight!" Luke cheered for his friend. "WREEEAAAAAAAAAAAAACK!" Kuwagamon suddenly charged at Toucamon at full speed, leaving Toucamon with no chance other than to dodge the attack. "WOAH!" Kuwagamon landed on the sand, embedding his pincers into the ground. "He's stuck!" Ally called out from underneath the tarp. "You can get him now!" Kangamon cheered the duo on. "Alrighty, let's finish this big bad bug off, okay?" Luke grinned confidently at his partner.

"FIERY WING!" Toucamon's attack struck Kuwagamon at full speed. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!" The bug digimon shrieked and exploded into digital dust. "There you go, Toucamon!" Luke patted his partner on the back once he had landed. "Thanks!" Toucamon dedigivolved into Ravenmon and flew onto Luke's shoulder. "You guys can come out now." Luke said as the tarp disappeared into Linzi's bag and the group stood up. "Now, we've got to find the Japanese digidestined. There's no telling where Pixiemon could've taken them." Caninmon barked. "Wait. We should make a plan of action first." Michael stopped the lupine digimon from going too far. "We have our plan of action. Find the Japanese digidestined." Jacob pointed out.

"It would be suicidal if we went too far. We have no clue what else lies here in Server." Michael sighed. "It would also be suicidal if we let one of the Japanese digidestined die because we weren't there to protect them." Jacob got in his face. "Guys, now is really not the time to argue." Linzi tried to stop the boys. "Oh for the love of Pete…" Ally sighed and turned to Kangamon, frowning. Caninmon pawed Jacob to try to get him to back down. "Michael, please listen to us." Chinchilmon got on top of Michael's head and waved his paw in front of Michael's eyes. Tiffany rubbed her eyes tiredly. "It's because we haven't been getting much sleep lately, I'm afraid." Azuremon nodded in agreement. "Both of you, will you please knock it off?" Torpedomon stuck her horn in-between the two to get them to back up.

"Hmph." Michael sighed and turned away from Jacob. "Alright." Jacob smiled triumphantly. "Which direction are we going?" Jacob asked the group. "My best guess would be is the direction that the Japanese digidestined went in." Michael commented over his shoulder. "Your sass is not appreciated right now." Jacob shot back. "It doesn't have to be." Michael turned back around, eyes cold as ice. "Hey, guys, we need to calm down here." Chinchilmon frowned and Caninmon nodded. "This isn't a good time at all to argue…" Ally frowned and wiped away at her eyes. "Ally…" Kangamon hugged her friend and glared at the two boys who were barely containing their anger at each other. "Boys, don't be stupid." Linzi glared at the boys as well.

"How about we all just relax for a bit until the Japanese digidestined appear again?" Luke suggested. "I think that's a great idea, yes indeed!" Ravenmon squawked and flew around Luke. Tiffany glanced at the two boys and quietly muttered to Azuremon. "Something's got to happen there. We can't be dealing with this all throughout our journey. We'll never make it if that happens." "You're exactly right. What must happen though, is the real question." Azuremon began to brainstorm ideas. "It's very plausible that we might have to get them to work together on something so they gain respect." He put that idea to Luke and Linzi as well. "All they're even doing right now is just staring angrily at each other. That's not going to do anything." Torpedomon chimed in, having left the two boys. "There simply must be a better way to deal with their anger." Ravenmon landed on Luke's head.

"Oh Kangamon…" Ally sniffled. She walked a little ways away from the group and sat down in the sand with Kangamon. "Why can't they stop being so stubborn? All it's doing is hurting both of them, and the entire group!" "Ally… I don't know why they can't. They're being so ridiculous right now when this is when we need to bind together as one most of all." Kangamon continued to hug her friend. "It just makes me so sad…" Ally started crying softly, trying to keep her tears to herself. "One of these days, Ally, they'll see…" Kangamon snuggled up to her. "I hope you're right…" Ally murmured. "I know I'm right." Kangamon smiled gently.

"Well now. Are you all calmed down?" Michael asked, letting his icy-cold voice shatter the uneasy silence. "I should say the same about you, kid." Jacob got in Michael's face. "Get. Out. Of. My. Face." Michael breathed, hostility evident in everything he did. "How about no?" Jacob grabbed Michael's wrist. "Hmph." Michael flinched slightly. "That's what I thought." Jacob let go of Michael's wrist, and promptly ducked a punch thrown by Michael. "Don't ever touch me again." Michael's eyes were afire with icy flames. "What's the matter? Can't bear me touching your wrist?" Jacob's mouth curved upwards in a wicked grin. "So what if I can't? I'm the one with a broken wrist, not you." Michael shot back, watching triumphantly as the grin was wiped off of his face. "And whose fault is it for that broken wrist being so badly hurt?" Jacob quickly recovered.

"I was protecting my friends. Something that you seemed to have a tough time dealing with." Michael reminded Jacob of the circumstances. "It seems to have gone against your normal protocol with keeping yourself safe at all costs." Jacob hit a nerve and was forced to duck another punch from Michael. "If you hit me with your wrist, you'll just hurt it even more, and apparently you can't bear me touching your wrist, so that pain will be pretty bad." Jacob braced for another punch, but was surprised when there wasn't one. "Ally. Did you take it again?" Michael called over his shoulder at the younger girl. "You know I don't like it when you have it or use it, Michael." Ally responded, the sadness evident in her voice. "Gah." Michael turned away from Jacob and stormed off away from the group, taking Chinchilmon with him.

"He won't go anywhere." Ally told Tiffany when she tried to go after Michael. "Give him about an hour or so. He needs time to cool down, and so do you, Jacob." She chided both boys, still visibly upset though. "I hate to go all parent-style on you boys, but you both need to think about your actions and how they pertain to our survival on this world." Luke sat Jacob down with Caninmon away from Michael to help defuse the situation. "This… Is not good…" Tiffany muttered and put her face in her hands. "Why on earth did Gennai ask us to do this?" Linzi sighed and hugged Torpedomon. "Well, maybe he can answer that. Look." Azuremon pointed to Gennai's holographic pad that appeared in the sand. "Ally, come over here. Gennai's contacting us." Ally hopped up quickly and ran over to the other three and their partners and waited for Gennai to appear.

Gennai didn't disappoint. He appeared shortly after Ally and Kangamon reached the other three. "Hello digidestined! I hope everything has been well?" He asked. "Well, in regards to both our group and the other group, no." Tiffany sighed and looked away. "Our group has kinda had to suffer through the vicious arguments between Michael and Jacob that just won't stop." Ally frowned and Kangamon piped up. "They're both being really stupid, which is why they're in time out." Gennai got a laugh out of that. "What about the other digidestined?" He asked. "Well… They were attacked by a Kuwagamon, but none of them except Agumon could digivolve…" Linzi was disappointed in herself. "And for some reason, Agumon couldn't digivolve either. Azuremon has a theory for that, I think." Luke added.

"Well, let's hear it." Gennai prodded Azuremon. "To put it simply, Agumon was afraid of being digivolved into SkullGreymon again." Azuremon dropped the bombshell on the old man. "SkullGreymon? And you say again? Has it happened before? I need to keep a better eye on you guys." Gennai sighed. "It was during an ambush that Etemon set for them. They were trapped inside of a coliseum, and Tai risked his life to try to help Greymon, and forced him to Evil-Digivolve…" Ravenmon cawed. "And none of you helped defeat SkullGreymon?" Gennai sounded disappointed. "I was helping Joe get his crest." Luke pointed out. "It was being guarded by a nasty Porcupamon." Ravenmon explained. "What about the rest of you?" Gennai accepted their answer. "By the time that SkullGreymon actually became a threat, Ikkakumon and Joe had arrived, and they were able to drain SkullGreymon of its energy." Kangamon chimed in quickly.

"Okay, so your theory sounds very plausible. However, he needs to get over that fear very quickly. It is quite irrational of him, seeing as such a scenario could only occur if he let it." Gennai reasoned. "Indeed. However, when none of the digimon could digivolve to protect the kids, I almost sent Ravenmon out to help them out." Luke explained. "But before he could do that, a digimon that Azuremon called Pixiemon saved the Japanese digidestined from Kuwagamon." "Oh my! Pixiemon saved them? That is quite fortunate indeed." Gennai smiled. "But now we have an issue of our own…" Tiffany spoke quickly. "We don't know where the Japanese digidestined went, and we have two very angry and hormonal teenagers who would beat each other up at the nearest possible opportunity."

"That is quite the issue there, and to be frank, I'm not exactly sure what you're going to do about it." Gennai seemed to brush the issue aside. "Well, we can't do that much about the Japanese digidestined being missing." Azuremon pointed out. "Do not worry about them. They'll be safe in Pixiemon's house while he trains them up. That's what he always does." Gennai explained. "That's a massive weight off of our backs. Do we just stay here then?" Linzi asked. "Yes. I'd still be careful, because Etemon could stumble upon you at any moment in time." Gennai explained. "He'll be looking around there, because the Japanese digidestined just disappeared off of the Dark Network. I'd recommend taking shelter. Now, I've got to go quickly, before the transmission is intercepted by Etemon, so good luck Digidestined!" Gennai disappeared before the four and their partners could get a word in edgewise.

"He's really irritating." Torpedomon glared at the disappearing holographic projector. "Hey guys? I think we've got bigger problems here." Luke turned around and saw an empty desert. "Michael and Jacob are gone." "That's not good. Not good at all." Ally began running around the area to see if she could see them. "I can't see them anywhere!" She yelled and began to panic. "Ally, I need you to calm down, okay? We'll find them. They can't have gone too far." Tiffany quickly hugged the girl, who started sobbing violently. "Guys, split up. Be on your full guard. There's no telling what could be near here." Linzi took charge, and the group did as she said.

"Chinchilmon, I wonder where those digidestined went." Michael wondered aloud as the two made it out of earshot of the others. "Michael, it's getting nighttime! We really should be with the others now." Chinchilmon pleaded with his friend. "Don't worry. We'll be fine. I've got my knife." Michael pulled out his favored switchblade. "See? And you can digivolve too if you have to." He picked Chinchilmon up and put him on his head. "No worries, even if there are other digimon out here." The two walked in silence for a little bit while it slowly turned nighttime.

"MICHAEL! YOU STUPID IDIOT, WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING?!" Jacob saw Michael disappear over a sand ridge and began running after him. "CANINMON! Let's go!" He called to his partner, who eagerly followed. "We've got to stop him before he gets too far." Jacob, panting between breaths, quickly explained. "MICHAEL! HOLD UP!" Jacob slid to a sudden stop when Michael turned around quickly and brandished his knife at Jacob. "Woah, hold up there." Jacob put his hands out as a peace offering. "What do you want?" Michael asked coldly. "I was wondering where you were going. As much as we don't like each other, it's not safe for one of us to be out here by ourselves." Jacob slowly explained himself while slowly walking towards to Michael.

"That may be so, but I can take of myself." Michael turned back around and continued walking. "I'm going to keep following you because I feel like this is a dumb idea, but whatever." Jacob kept following him despite the growing pit of dread in his stomach telling him to run back to the group. 'I can't abandon any of our group now. They've become like family to me, as much as I hate Michael sometimes.' He thought to himself. The two walked in silence as their digimon partners kept a close eye out on the surrounding areas. "There looks like there's something over there." Michael pointed out a low structure far in the distance. "Let's check it out, I guess." Jacob nodded. "Keep an eye out for anything that moves, Caninmon." "You too Chinchilmon." Michael told his partner, who was still on top of Michael's head.

"It looks like a well." Jacob facepalmed. "So we walked all this way for a well? Great." Michael grumbled under his breath. "Wait, Michael. Look at your tag. It's glowing." Chinchilmon pointed out. "My crest is near here, then!" Michael yelled excitedly before getting shushed by the other three. "Great. Now everyone knows that we're here." Jacob sighed and continued walking towards the well. "We might as well check the well, just in case." "That's right. There could be a clue to the crest in the well." Caninmon joked about. Michael's teeth clenched and he almost spoke out, but Chinchilmon clamped one of his tails over Michael's mouth. "Thank you, Chinchilmon." He took his friend off of his head and held the small digimon. "It's no problem." Chinchilmon smiled.

"This well looks to be pretty deep." Michael leaned over the side of the well to get a better look in the well. "Be careful Michael. Don't fall into the well." Chinchilmon sat on the edge of the well. "My crest seems to react best when I'm near the well." Michael noted, and Jacob sighed. "I swear, if it's in the damn well…" Caninmon woofed a little bit. "It does seem to be the most likely scenario." "This is really unfortunate." Michael sighed. "Here goes nothing!" He jumped in feet first into the well. "The water is warm. No big deal." He smiled up at the worried face of Chinchilmon. "Don't worry, if I need to get out, I'll let you guys know." "Alrighty. We'll keep a lookout then." Jacob turned around and listened as Michael dived into the water to see where the crest was.

"Hey Michael?!" Chinchilmon yelled over the side of the well. "WE'VE GOT TROUBLE!" Jacob yelled as a large silhouette appeared over the horizon line, showing well despite the darkness of the night. "IT'S ONE ANGRY DIGIMON AND IT'S HEADING RIGHT FOR US!" Caninmon yelled as he and Chinchilmon jumped in front of the well to protect the two humans. "Alright guys, here he comes, and he looks mad!" Jacob yelled as the duo prepared to fight.


	14. An Old Friend!

Disclaimer! I do not own any of this with the exception of the American digidestined and their partners!

Everything else belongs to Saban

Hope you enjoy!

Chapter 14

"They're gone." Kangamon dropped her head as the four and their digimon partners turned around to see that Michael, Jacob, Chinchilmon, and Ravenmon were gone. "They couldn't have gotten too far. We've got to get looking for them." Tiffany took charge. "Luke, you come with me and we'll search this way." She directed Luke to the right. "Girls, you go left. If you haven't found them in an hour, come back this way." "Alrighty! Let's go guys!" Linzi pointed to the left as she, Ally, Kangamon, and Torpedomon headed out. "Good luck!" Ally smiled at the other quartet leaving to the left. "We've got to be fast. There's no telling where they could've gone." Linzi told Torpedomon, who sighed, but sped up. "Alright, keep an eye out for those guys." The nighttime sky loomed over the two ominously.

"Do you see anything?" Luke called up to Ravenmon who flew above, almost invisible in the night sky. "There's no sign of light from up here!" Ravenmon called back down. "Do you sense anything, Azuremon?" Tiffany asked her partner. "I do…" Azuremon stiffened. "What is it?" Tiffany enquired. "It doesn't seem to be anything that we need to concern ourselves with." Azuremon evaded saying what it was. 'Datamon, if you truly want our help, then you'll have to look elsewhere. I don't fall for your tricks.' Azuremon growled slightly at the thought of what Datamon could do. "You sure that you're okay?" Tiffany brought him out of his trance. "Yes, I'm fine. We should keep moving." Luke and Tiffany exchanged glances, shrugging.

"Guys, what is it?" Michael came up for air again and saw the group preparing for battle. "There's one nasty digimon up here!" Jacob yelled to him in the well. "Be careful guys!" Michael hollered up at the trio. "We're gonna try!" Chinchilmon charged the massive digimon that was still encased in shadows. "CHINCHILMON! BE CAREFUL!" Caninmon followed the brave digimon. "I guess I've got to get you out of that thing, huh?" Jacob leaned over the well and reached down for Michael's hand. "Well, I can't reach you. This isn't good." Jacob stood back up and turned around to see Caninmon and Chinchilmon riding the massive digimon. "YOU GUYS! BE CAREFUL!" Michael yelled, seeing the panicked look on Jacob's face. "I'm gonna keep trying for this thing! It's got to be down here!" Michael dove back down again and narrowly avoided part of the well ceiling falling down.

"Any luck?" Linzi asked Ally. "No, not really. I'm not hearing much anywhere." The younger girl sighed. "Linzi, are all guys like that?" "Like what?" Linzi asked, puzzled. "Like Michael and Jacob. You'd think that they were mortal enemies by the way they argued…" Ally sniffed again. "Ah… I see… You see Ally, that is what we call a mixture of many things acting up." Linzi smiled and hugged her. "The two boys are both teens, meaning that their emotions are all messed up anyways. Michael's past doesn't help the issue." The mood turned somber. "It certainly doesn't help that Jacob seems to the polar opposite of Michael's personality too." Torpedomon pointed out. "You got that right." Kangamon agreed. "Well, it's starting to make a little more sense to me." Ally smiled and hugged Linzi. "I still think it's ridiculously dumb and not safe, especially when there is nowhere in this place to actually go." She gestured to the dark sand all around the group as they burst into laughter.

"Be careful guys. We've gone pretty far out." Azuremon warned the group. "Do you sense something?" Tiffany asked, on her guard now. "Yes. It's not good, either." Azuremon spoke quickly and turned around. "It's coming from the way we came. Linzi and Ally are heading directly towards it." Luke spun around and quickly called to Ravenmon. "HEY BUDDY! THE OTHERS ARE IN DANGER! WE'VE GOT TO GO BACK!" Ravenmon did a U-Turn and sped up, leading the charge back to Linzi and Ally, along with their partners. "What did it feel like, Azuremon?" Tiffany panted as she ran. "It was a combination of dark and light, good and evil…" He murmured. "What?" Luke looked as confused as he could be. "Good and evil are signs of crossroads. Somebody is at a pivotal point in their life right now." Azuremon stopped suddenly. "What?" He clutched his head like he was in pain. "Azuremon!" Tiffany yelled as she caught her partner before he hit the ground. "There are two… Two…" Azuremon muttered quietly and stood up by himself. "Keep going. We must get there quickly."

"Bum bum bum bum bum…" Kangamon kept time by using her bounces as a metronome. "Let's keep it up!" Torpedomon smiled as she kept up with the girls. "Rum-a-tum tum! Rum-a-tum tum!" Ally sang a little rhythm to help pass the time. "Surely we would've found them at this point." Linzi wondered out loud. "Well, maybe they did go farther than we thought they did. We could never know!" Torpedomon kept an eye out amongst the sand dunes. "Everything kinda looks the same at this point to be honest." Kangamon stopped suddenly. "What is it, Kangamon?" Ally asked her friend. "Something feels off…" The marsupial lookalike punched the air again, like she was looking for something. "Kangamon, what is it?" Linzi insisted. "There's definitely something there." Torpedomon jabbed the air to her left. "There."

"Well, well, well! What have we here? A few digidestined and their puny digimon just wandering the desert?!" The digimon slowly revealed itself. "You again?" Kangamon gasped. "Wait, you know that thing Kangamon?" Ally gasped. Kangamon didn't answer, and instead glared at the digimon. "Of course she knows me! I was her best friend for so many years! HOW DO YOU JUST FORGET ME?" The digimon snarled and turned around, revealing its full body. "It is you…" Kangamon sniffed as Ally gave her a hug. "What's the matter Kangamon? Who is this digimon?" Ally gently asked her partner. "My former best friend…" Linzi frowned and watched as Torpedomon growled angrily at the new digimon. "That's right, and you stupid humans aren't going to take her away from me again!" "Yasyamon…" The sword-wielding puppet digimon snorted. "I'm surprised you still remember my name."

"Of course I still remember your name…" Kangamon sighed. "Why did you leave?! I thought we had something together!" Yasyamon growled and pulled his swords out. "I didn't have a choice! You know that I had to leave." Kangamon defended herself as Yasyamon sliced at the air before Ally. "Get out!" He yelled at Ally. "NO! Kangamon is my friend. I'm not leaving her." Ally stood her ground and glared at Yasyamon. "Be careful, Ally." Linzi cautioned the girl, who was standing toe to toe with the fearsome digimon. "Yeah, this guy is bad news." Torpedomon stepped forward, but was blocked by one of Yasyamon's swords.

"What do you want from me?" Kangamon asked her former friend. "I want you." Yasyamon moved with surprising speed and grabbed Kangamon and jumped away. "ALLY!" Kangamon shrieked. "I'M ON IT!" Torpedomon yelled as Linzi's digivice glowed. "TORPEDOMON DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO DOLFINOMON!" Dolfinomon landed gracefully in the air and sped at Yasyamon. "YOU WON'T GET MY FRIEND! AQUA BLASTER!" The powerful blast of water stunned Yasyamon and knocked one of his swords out of his hands and forced him to drop Kangamon.

"KANGAMON!" Yasyamon growled again and dashed at the marsupial digimon. "NOW KANGAMON! SHOW HIM WHAT YOU'RE MADE OF!" Ally yelled as her digivice glowed. "HERE GOES NOTHING!" Kangamon shut her eyes. "KANGAMON DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO TUNIPYMON!" Yasyamon stopped dead in his tracks. "What?!" He yelled in shock and did a quick backflip to avoid the large log in his face. "Kangamon?" "Tunipymon, that is!" Tunipymon smacked Yasyamon with the massive log. "AGH!" Yasyamon stumbled backwards, right into Dolfinomon's waiting Aqua Blaster. "OOF!" Yasyamon was blasted forward again and collapsed onto the ground.

"Why do you hurt me so?" Yasyamon gasped and looked longingly up at Tunipymon. "Listen, mister. Nobody tries to hurt Ally and gets away with it." Tunipymon growled fiercely and raised her weapon. "But why her? Why do you choose to be with her instead of me?" Yasyamon tried to stand up one last time. "You know I have to! I was made to be with her and I must protect her, helping her save this world!" Tunipymon glared at Yasyamon. "But… we were meant to be together forever!" Yasyamon protested. "No, we weren't. I told you when we first met all those years ago that I would have to leave eventually." Tunipymon thought back to all the moment they first met.

"HEY! Who are you?!" Roomon cowered underneath a leaf as the intimidating rookie digimon came closer to her. "Stay away!" She cried out as the digimon came into view. "Hey, relax! I'm not gonna hurt you." Dracmon held out his hands. "Eep! Dracmon!" Roomon flattened to the ground. "Would you stop that? Yeah, most Dracmon are rookie-level demons that can paralyze you with their Eye of Nightmare, but I'm not like the others. I'm a nice guy." Dracmon put his hands behind his back and kicked the ground nervously. "I guess I do look kinda intimidating…" He sighed and sat down in front of Roomon. "You look like you could use a friend. Whaddaya say?" Dracmon reached his hand out and put it in front of Roomon's tiny hands. 'I don't know if I can trust this guy… But I need a friend more than ever, so…' She shook hands with the rookie.

A few weeks later

"Dracmon?" Roomon asked her friend. "Yeah, what is it, Roomon?" "Um… Is it okay if I tell you something?" Roomon stopped slowly and turned to her friend. "Sure!" Dracmon sat down and listened to Roomon. "Well… I thought I should let you know now that eventually I'll have to leave…" Roomon came right out and said it. "Well, why is that?" Dracmon acted surprised. "I don't know, but I just feel it in my gut… Someone else is waiting for me…" Roomon frowned, but smiled quickly. "But I know that won't be for a long time, so we're okay for now!" She giggled and jumped around the thinking Dracmon. "Yes! That's right!" He forced a smile and stood up as Roomon jumped ahead.

Present Time

"You did…" Yasyamon frowned. "Why are you attacking me now?" Tunipymon asked the digimon. "YOU RAN AWAY! HOW COULD YOU RUN AWAY FROM ME?" Yasyamon jumped up and grabbed his sword. "DOUBLE STRIKE!" He attacked Dolfinomon and Tunipymon at the same time. "OOF!" Dolfinomon was knocked back by the sheer force of the powerful swords. "HYAH!" Tunipymon blocked the sword flying at her with her log. "IF I CAN'T HAVE YOU, THEN SHE CAN'T EITHER!" Yasyamon jumped up and charged at Ally, causing her to shriek. "ALLY!" Linzi screamed and kicked Yasyamon in the leg before stumbling backwards away from one of his swords. "YOU DON'T HURT MY PARTNER!" Tunipymon roared and jumped into the air.

"GRAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Tunipymon landed right behind Yasyamon, who jumped at the impact. "BRANCH CRUSH!" Tunipymon swung her large log at Yasyamon's back, hitting it with a loud thunk. "ARGH!" Yasyamon stumbled forward, dropping Ally. "OVER HERE!" Linzi gestured to Ally to run over to the now dedigivolved Torpedomon. "GO FOR IT TUNIPYMON!" She yelled as Tunipymon stood over Yasyamon, watching as the master-swordsman digimon cowered on the ground. "Any last words?" Tunipymon snarled at her former friend. "Yes…" Yasyamon muttered quietly. "Well, spit them out." "PUPPET MASTER!" He sprung up suddenly and shot puppet strings out at Ally. "HAHAHA!" He cackled evilly as he maneuvered Ally over to where he had jumped.

"Do your worst!" He cackled. "ALLY!" Linzi screamed again and covered her eyes as Yasyamon lifted Ally up by the puppet strings. "Beheading? Or clubbing?!" Yasyamon giggled crazily as he raised his sword to Ally's neck. "Tunipymon, do what you have to do!" Ally begged her partner. "Don't worry about me!" "I can't Ally! I must save you!" Tunipymon stood her ground as she watched Yasyamon's blade draw closer. 'Surely there's something that I can think of…' She began to panic in her mind. 'THAT'S IT!' "Yasyamon, drop your blade. I'll go with you." She bitterly dropped her head as Ally screamed.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Yasyamon raised his sword in triumph only to be shocked by a surprise attack from behind. "BLADE OF THE KIND!" Taiongmon sliced Yasyamon's head clean off of his body with the powerful sword strike. "Yasyamon. Your determination is applauded, but the means of which it is applied to is not. Return to Primary Village and begin again, misguided fool." Taiongmon released Ally from the puppet strings as Tiffany, Ravenmon, and Luke crossed the sand dune. "GUYS! We thought you were in some serious danger!" Tiffany yelled as she gave the terrified Ally a hug. "That was too close for comfort." Tunipymon quickly dedigivolved into Kangamon, as Taiongmon dedigivolved into Azuremon.

"My attack was different that time… This time it was a Blade of Kindness…" He muttered and looked at Ally. 'I wonder… Does it have anything to do with the Crests, Digimon Mother? So many questions and so few answers…' "I don't really care about him right now. I just want to make sure that you guys are okay." Kangamon brushed off Yasyamon's body dissipating into data. "That was a close one." Linzi agreed and gave Torpedomon a hug. "Thank you for helping out, Torpedomon." She smiled at her partner, who tiredly smiled back. "I tried…" Torpedomon poked around in Linzi's pockets for food. Linzi giggled and gave the digimon a chocolate bar.

"Have you guys seen Michael or Jacob?" Luke asked the two girls. "No, we hadn't gotten much farther than this when Yasyamon attacked us." Ally replied. "Did you guys have any luck?" "No. Azuremon sensed the danger that you were in, which is why we came back this way." Ravenmon quickly interjected. "We must keep heading this way. Etemon is here now." Azuremon sighed and stood up. "Michael and Jacob will need our help if they run into any trouble."

'Woah! That piece of debris almost hit me. I've got to get out of here now. The Crest won't do me any good if I die getting it.' Michael swam upwards, barely avoiding getting hit with another piece of debris. He broke the surface of the water and called up to Jacob and the digimon. "Can you guys get me out of here?!" Jacob poked his head over the edge. "Um, it's a bit of a tricky situation right now! Matt and Izzy are heading straight for the well, while Caninmon and Chinchilmon are hiding underneath the sand while the nasty digimon is heading straight for Izzy and Matt!" Jacob yelled as he reached his hand down to Michael.

"Thanks." A soaking wet Michael dropped to the sand as Jacob pulled him over the edge of the well. "Next time, can we not send someone to look in the well?" Jacob asked cynically and led him over to where their digimon were buried in the sand. "We can't move, otherwise we'll be seen." Chinchilmon explained quietly. "That nasty digimon is a Tyrannomon. Normally they're peaceful digimon, but this one looks like it's under Etemon's control due to the Dark Network attached to it." Caninmon quickly explained and watched as the Tyrannomon made a beeline straight for the two Japanese digidestined, who stood in fear.

"IZZY! WE'D BETTER GET IN PIXIEMON'S SHELTER!" Matt yelled as the duo saw Tyrannomon growling and running at them. "I CONCUR!" They made an about-face and ran as fast as they could into Pixiemon's shelter. However, that didn't deter the Tyrannomon. "GRAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" The champion-level digimon sent a ball of fire directly into the enclosure, breaking the mirage wall and disabling part of the shield. "THIS ISN'T GOOD!" Izzy yelled even louder as the commotion that Tyrannomon made woke the rest of the digidestined and Pixiemon. The two could hear Mimi's scream even over the Tyrannomon's roars.

"Jacob, we've got to help them!" Michael whispered urgently to the other boy. "Are you sure?" Jacob questioned. "They have the power of an ultimate on their side." He explained his rationale. "Yes, but that Ultimate is Pixiemon. Yes, he's powerful, but he's a teacher. He'll want them to work it out first, and I don't know if they're ready." Michael fought back. "Okay, if you're sure about this…" Jacob reluctantly agreed. "Wait, you're okay with something that I'm doing?" Michael gasped and Jacob growled quietly. "Just go." He sighed and Michael grinned.

"Chinchilmon, now!" Michael yelled as quietly as he could. "Here goes nothing!" The small digimon got up and charged at Tyrannomon, who was bearing down on the Japanese Digidestined duo. "CHINCHILMON DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO TRILEPTIMON!" Trileptimon landed agilely on his feet and rammed in Tyrannomon, throwing a fireball that would've hit the boys into the trees of Pixiemon's structure. "HEY! THOSE ARE EXPENSIVE TREES!" Pixiemon hollered as he led the digidestined and their partners to the Tyrannomon.

"WHERE ARE AGUMON AND TAI?" He shrieked at the top of his lungs as the group watched Trileptimon fight with Tyrannomon. "ASTIRE SLASH!" The powerful attack threw Tyrannomon off-balance and into a pile of fallen trees. "Trileptimon, try to be more careful. Pixiemon won't take kindly if we trash his house, okay?" Michael whispered to his partner. "He doesn't really have a choice here. It's Pixiemon's house or the digidestined lives." Jacob reasoned. "Now you're being the reasonable one." Michael scoffed and Caninmon woofed quietly in laughter.

"MICHAEL! JACOB! BOYS!" Linzi yelled at the two boys in the sand as the group reunited itself. "Hey. Get down and be quiet. Trileptimon is helping the digidestined fight off a powerful Tyrannomon, even though none of them seem to be doing everything…" Michael whispered cynically. "Someone call for a tarp?" Luke draped it over the group as they were able to unbury themselves from the sand. "Thank you. I think sand was getting in my socks." Jacob laughed quietly. "We're not out of the woods yet. The Japanese digidestined are waiting for something, and I think it's Tai." Caninmon pointed out.

'Digital Mother, if you would please pass a message on to Gennai. Trileptimon is a powerful digimon and has lots of potential in the right hands.' Pixiemon noted the fight as Tyrannomon slowly edged its way closer to the Japanese digidestined. "NOW TAI!" The pink digimon yelled as Tai ran out from a cave behind the group. "What did I miss?" He asked, with Agumon glaring at Tyrannomon. "Only a massive DINOSAUR DIGIMON TRYING TO EAT US FOR DIGI-BREAKFAST!" Mimi yelled and drew Tyrannomon's attention back onto the group. "Well, here goes nothing! COME ON AGUMON!" Tai yelled as Agumon ran up to meet Tyrannomon.

"AGUMON DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO GREYMON!" Greymon quickly fired off a massive fireball at Tyrannomon. "ASTIRE SLASH!" Trileptimon used its attack to bat the dinosaur digimon back to Greymon. "GRAAAAAAH!" Greymon quickly picked up Tyrannomon despite its stubby arms and slammed the evil digimon into the ground. "ALRIGHT GREYMON! FINISH IT OFF!" Tai yelled as Trileptimon ran outside of the barrier and back to the American digidestined before dedigivolving. "Proud of you buddy." Michael rubbed Chinchilmon's head as the tired digimon snuggled up under the tarp.

"NOVA BLAST!" Greymon sent Tyrannomon high up into the air, where it was disconnected from the Dark Network, and promptly destroyed. "WOOOO! THAT'S HOW YOU DO IT GREYMON!" Tai celebrated with the Japanese digidestined. "Thank you for coming in when you did, Tai!" TK cheerfully gave him a hug. "We would've been some roasted digi-steak for sure otherwise." Sora nodded and smiled at the boy, who blushed slightly. "It's all thanks to Greymon. He was the one who beat Tyrannomon, along with that strange other digimon." Tai brushed it off. "Speaking of that other digimon, Pixiemon, do you know what that was? I've never seen anything like it in my time here on the digital world." Izzy asked the wise digimon. "That digimon is a very special one. You'll be lucky to have a digimon of its caliber helping you again." Pixiemon kept things realistic.

"Now, what were you boys doing outside of the safety of my enclosure?!" Pixiemon turned his wrath onto Izzy and Matt. "Our crests were glowing! We had to go check it out, because I had a feeling that they wouldn't be there in the morning." Matt explained briefly, and Izzy nodded. "Well, did you find them?" Right as Joe asked the question, the bottom of the well began to glow a bright purple and dark blue color, creating two beams of light for the crests to appear out of.

"Two crests? One for Izzy and one for me?" Matt asked. "That's right. The crest chooses you, so here they come." Pixiemon smiled as the bright purple light stopped in front of Izzy. The light faded to show a ceramic tablet with a simple design on it. The tablet shined a bright purple color before revealing the crest, a bright purple pair of glasses with a dark purple background. "THE CREST OF KNOWLEDGE!" A mysterious voice appeared around the group and Izzy smiled. "Of course I'm the one to get the Crest of Knowledge. I have no intention of ever losing this." He swore proudly as the Crest fit perfectly into his tag.

"This one is mine then…" Matt murmured softly as the dark blue light came to a stop in front of him. "It's such a gorgeous color…" He looked up to see the ceramic tablet come out of the light and begin shining a dark blue color. "I wonder what mine is called." Matt excitedly waited for the Crest to appear. As the Crest appeared, Matt watched in awe as it duplicated itself. "Two?" Mimi asked, very confused. One of the two Crests sped off to where the American digidestined were located while the other stayed with Matt. "My very own Crest…" He smiled softly as the dark-blue Crest with a light-blue yin-yang like symbol fit perfectly in his tag. "THE CREST OF FRIENDSHIP!" His jaw dropped as he heard the voice announce his Crest. "Friendship? Me? This must be a mistake." He looked at Pixiemon, who was shaking his head. "The Crests make no mistakes. They choose who they belong to Matt, and the Crest of Friendship belongs to you. May you treat it well." Pixiemon smiled before giving the Japanese Digidestined the bad news.

"Unfortunately, you cannot stay here any longer. Etemon now knows the location of this place and will not hesitate to take me down to get to you. You must leave now, before word of this place's discovery gets out." Pixiemon was already ushering the Japanese digidestined out. "NOW! DO NOT FORGET WHAT I HAVE TAUGHT YOU! YOU MUST BELIEVE IN YOURSELVES DIGIDESTINED! BELIEVE!" Pixiemon called out as he watched the Japanese digidestined leave his sight. "I might miss those guys…" He sighed and turned to repairing his home.

"The Crest of Friendship…" Michael watched in awe as the Crest stopped in front of him. "It makes sense to me." Ally smiled. "I guess it really does, huh?" Jacob cracked a quick grin. "HEY! I GOT HIM TO SMILE!" Michael laughed as the Crest fit in his tag perfectly. "Well, it just goes to show that miracles can happen, right Caninmon?" Jacob asked his partner, who responded with a resounding yes. "What did happen while you guys were out there?" Tiffany asked, surprised at the duo's newfound familiarity. "A lot happens when you get a person out there with another person who he can't stand. It's really something special." Michael smiled and slipped his knife back to Ally. "Make sure that I don't get it this time. You know what happens when I get it." He whispered as Ally nodded. "It's mine now, okay?" She giggled as the group headed off behind the Japanese digidestined.

The Digidestined teams have made it through another series of harrowing adventures! However, their greatest trials are yet to come as they search for the final two Crests!


	15. Datamon's Deception!

Disclaimer! I do not own any of this with the exception of the American digidestined and their partners!

Everything else belongs to Saban

Hope you enjoy!

A/N: I'M SO SORRY ABOUT NOT UPDATING LAST WEEK GUYS PLEASE LOVE ME 3 Anyways, as I said on my profile, I'm going to be out of the country for the next 9/10 days and will be without a way to update, which is why Chapter 15 is coming today, and Chapter 16 will be up on May 30th! I took a week off so I could also build up some more chapters. I was starting to run a bit low on my backup. Anyways, enough of me!

Chapter 15

"I wonder what that digimon was…" Tai wondered as he thought back to the battle with Tyrannomon. "I have no clue Tai. I've never seen a digimon like that in my life." Agumon was of no help either. "My best guess is that someone sent it to help us." Izzy adjusted his glasses and Tentomon nodded. "It did seem rather friendly for a wild digimon." The insect digimon buzzed. "I guess all we can do is hope that it doesn't follow us if it does turn out to not be so nice." Sora shrugged her shoulders. "Hey TK! Is your tag still glowing?" Biyomon flew over Sora and started walking next to TK.

"You betcha! It's real bright." TK giggled as Tokomon sighed contently on top of his head. "I wonder if we're getting close to it." Gabumon wondered. "I'm sure we are. It wouldn't be glowing if we weren't close." Matt reminded his partner. "I wonder if it's by a hot spring!" Mimi smiled in excitement. "Or maybe in some shade!" Palmon set her sights lower, but still grew excited. "I wouldn't raise your sights too high. If we're lucky, we'll find it in the middle of the desert and then only Sora's Crest would be left." Joe dashed their hopes. "Aw, don't be such a spoilsport Joe!" Gomamon batted him in the face and laughed as Joe's glasses fell off of his face. "Gomamon, really?" Joe picked up his glasses, lightly scolding Gomamon but laughing at the same time. "Aha! I got him to laugh!" The aquatic digimon laughed as well.

"Are they still following the light from TK's tag?" Ally asked Azuremon. "Yes. They don't really have a clue as to where it leads though." The digimon answered. "Etemon is bound to find them soon at this point, no?" Tiffany asked. "We're literally in the desert surrounded by his Dark Network to the point where we can shift the sand just enough and we can see the wires." "That's true, but I don't think for some reason he sees us." Luke paused, thoughtful. "You're right on that account. He's never seen us, only the Japanese digidestined for some reason." Michael had Chinchilmon lying on his head, relaxing in the hot sun.

Azuremon smiled as he felt the comforting presence of the Digital Mother. "She protects us here." He muttered to himself and continued walking. "We are safe. There is a greater power protecting us, it seems." "Well, that's good then. It lets us focus on those guys." Linzi smiled. "We've still got our work cut out for us though. Etemon has it out for them." Torpedomon glanced around nervously. "He's not here right now, nor do is he near here." Azuremon told the group. "I wonder why he's not following them this time." Jacob wondered out loud, but was silenced by an extremely loud roar across the desert.

The Gazimon cowered underneath Etemon. "I'm sorry, my lord King Etemon!" The Gazimon screamed as Etemon growled at him. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN MY DARK NETWORK IS DOWN?! IS IT THOSE MEDDLING DIGIDESTINED KIDS AGAIN?" He turned around and glared at the Gazimon working on the display screen. "Are you fixing it?" He growled and his tail whipped around one of the Gazimon. "Yes, of course my lord King Etemon! We are trying to locate the source of the disruption." The group of Gazimon panicked and began typing faster. "Well? Where is it?" He impatiently demanded. "Well…" The leader of the Gazimon cowered underneath Etemon's furious glare. "Where. Is. It?" Etemon growled. "The disruption is coming from the heart of your mightily beautiful base…" "DATAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON!" Etemon growled and yelled up at the ceiling of his "tour bus." "TAKE ME TO MY PALACE, NOW! Datamon and I have a score to settle." The monkey-Elvis impersonator digimon punched the aluminum wall of his tour bus and seethed in anger.

"Ohohoh! It seems dear Etemon has figured me out!" A small robotic digimon giggled. "Now, I suppose it's time for me to play my trump card! Oh digidestined! Come saaaave meeeeee!" Datamon began laughing evilly and typing madly on the glass surrounding him.

"Hey guys! Look over there!" Izzy pointed to an unusually large mound of sand. "I wonder if TK's crest is in there!" Mimi wondered and Palmon nodded. "It's the only noticeable thing around here for miles!" The plant digimon panted, exhausted from walking. "Hang in there a little while longer, okay guys?" Matt told Gabumon and TK, both of whom were sweating. "It's so hot…" TK began dragging his feet. "You've got to keep going TK! If we find our Crest, which means only Sora's Crest is left, and hers is bound to take us out of this desert!" Tokomon tried to give him a pep talk. "Well, that's right." TK smiled faintly. "Look at the poor guy… He's exhausted." Tai frowned slightly, but put on a smile. "We'll just have to find his Crest that much faster, right Agumon?" "That's right! We're so close to finding all of them!" Biyomon chirped cheerfully. "Sora?" The flying digimon looked worriedly at her friend. "Don't worry about me, Biyo. I'm fine, see?" Sora put on an unconvincing smile.

"Man guys… They're really tired now, aren't they?" Michael watched the Japanese digidestined slowly climb the sand dunes. "Too bad there's literally nothing that we can do…" Chinchilmon frowned. "Well, maybe one day we'll be able to actually help them." Linzi smiled and kept walking onwards. "I sure hope it's soon. Having to stay behind them is starting to get a bit tedious." Jacob complained, but was quickly shut up by Luke. "So you'd rather us lose the only advantage that we have against Etemon?" The older teen grinned as Jacob, blushing, turned away and mumbled under his breath. "What was that?" Caninmon pawed at his leg as Luke burst into laughter. "Humans…" Ravenmon sighed and shook his head. "You can say that again!" Kangamon giggled quietly as Ally collapsed into peals of laughter. "What's so funny?!" Torpedomon demanded to know. "It would be better off if you didn't know." Tiffany stifled a quick giggle.

"What are they doing? There's a strange symbol that's right over there!" Ally panicked a bit when the Japanese digidestined bypassed a series of interesting-looking ruins. "Is there a way that we can get their attention?" Kangamon asked, seeing the ruins as well. "There's got to be a way." Michael began to think. "I don't think we have to worry about getting their attention!" Tiffany yelled and pointed to the right. "We've got company." Azuremon quickly turned in that direction. "We ready for this?" Luke asked Ravenmon. "Let me handle this big guy." Jacob stepped forward with Caninmon as the digimon turned towards the Japanese digidestined. "Well, or not." Jacob sighed, deflated.

"Um… Guys? Is it just me or is the earth shaking?" Joe asked timidly. "It's not just you! I feel it too!" Tai fell to his knees to get a better sense of balance. "What is it?!" Mimi shrieked again and was answered by a digimon appearing in front of them. "Woah! That's Prairiemon! It's a champion level digimon whose Hare's Ear attack will knock you into next week! Normally, they're peaceful though, so I wonder what has this one set off!" Gabumon exclaimed as Prairiemon charged at the group. "GAGAGAGAGAHAHAHAHAHA HARE'S EAR!" The digimon maniacally began laughing while spinning in circles. "OUT OF THE WAY!" Palmon dragged Mimi to the ground while Biyomon did the same for Sora just before Prairiemon flew right over their heads. "Tentomon! Quickly!" Izzy nodded at Tentomon. "Here goes! TENTOMON DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO KABUTERIMON!" The large insect digimon flew up in the air and glared at Prairiemon.

"ELECTRO SHOCKER!" Kabuterimon nailed the beast-type digimon with his powerful electric attack. Prairiemon angrily chattered its teeth and ran at Izzy instead of Kabuterimon. "GABUMON!" Matt yelled as Gabumon began running over to Izzy. "GABUMON DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO GARURUMON!" The newly digivolved digimon grabbed Izzy by his teeth and threw him on his back. "GOING FOR A RIDE!" Garurumon howled as Izzy yelled in terror. "Bring him over here big guy, and then go help Kabuterimon!" Matt directed Garurumon. "HERE WE GO BIG BOY!" Garurumon dropped Izzy off and then immediately fired off an attack at Prairiemon. "HOWLING BLASTER!" The attack struck Prairiemon to great effect, sending the digimon flying into a sand dune.

"Well, they don't need our help for this one." Luke smiled. "That's a good thing in this case, I guess." Ravenmon nodded. "Yep! That's right! They're kicking his butt!" Torpedomon enthusiastically cheered the Japanese digidestined on. "YOU GO GUYS!" Ally hollered, but quickly clapped her hands over her mouth. "A bit too loud?" She timidly asked as the group dropped to the ground quickly. "Let's hope they didn't hear you, Ally." Kangamon frowned. "Even if they did, we can hide under the tarp. It's not too big of a deal." Tiffany reasoned. "No need to be disappointed." Azuremon nodded as Ally smiled a little bit. "If you insist." She went back to watching the battle, dead quiet now. "I think they heard you." Michael deadpanned as Sora and Biyomon began walking towards the American digidestined. "Wait…" Jacob stopped the group. "There you go! Sora saw the ruins now, so they'll hopefully find the final crest."

"TK! OVER HERE!" Sora directed the younger boy towards the ruins. "Don't go in those yet. We need to scout it out first, okay?" She smiled as Tai and Joe arrived. "Let's go in to check it out boys." Sora directed the foursome inside as Mimi, Izzy, and Matt waited outside to hold off Prairiemon. "It looks like it's just a wall to me." Tai scratched his head while Agumon nodded. "It has a weird symbol on it though." Gomamon walked up to the wall and touched it, feeling only solid wall. "Hey TK, how about you go up to it?" Tokomon suggested as the young boy obliged, putting his small hand up to the wall.

When TK's hand connected with the wall, the strange symbol that almost looked like a prize ribbon began to glow a bright yellow color, blinding the quartet and their partners. "It's so bright!" TK yelled as the light began to dissipate quickly afterwards. "Look! It's another tablet." Sora pointed through the remnants of the light at the floating ancient tablet. The tablet quickly split in two with none of the quartet noticing the split. "It's so pretty…" TK murmured as the tablet came to rest in front of him. "The Crest of Hope!" The mysterious voice rang through the area. "Hope?" TK smiled and hugged his Tag after the yellow Crest with the strange ribbon pattern had inserted itself into his Tag. "You know, I think that makes a lot of sense TK." Biyomon smiled at the happy younger boy as he and Tokomon celebrated. "Don't think that this means you can stay up any later though." Matt startled TK when he ran over to the other four and their partners. "Prairiemon is proving to be tougher than expected. Palmon digivolved and is helping us fend it off, but we might want to get out of here before Prairiemon gets really angry." He delivered the dire news.

"Look at that Prairiemon go! It's really putting a beating on Togemon, Garurumon, and Kabuterimon, three very powerful champions in their own rights!" Jacob's jaw dropped as Prairiemon knocked Togemon over before jumping into the air to bring Kabuterimon to the ground. "They need some help. Garurumon is the only one who can still fight at this point of those three." Caninmon turned to Jacob, who nodded. "Guys? Caninmon is going to go help Garurumon." He told the group. "Wait, we should talk about this first." Tiffany tried to stop him. "Garurumon is about to be defeated, and then those guys will be taken by surprise. Action first, talk later in this case." Jacob cut her off. "I agree." Michael spoke up in Jacob's defense. "They need help, and we're the only ones around TO give help." Jacob looked surprised at Michael's defense, but the boy glanced at the sand and kicked at it.

Luke and Linzi exchanged glances, but nodded quickly. "Let him help." Azuremon spoke as well. "Well… I guess…" Tiffany reluctantly agreed and Caninmon ran towards the duo. "CANINMON DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO RANETSUMON!" The wolflike digimon quickly covered the ground between the American Digidestined and Prairiemon. "WOLF'S KNUCKLES!" The attack took Prairiemon by surprise and saved Garurumon from being hit again. "HOWLING BLASTER!" Garurumon's attack struck Prairiemon as well and threw him back. "Glad you could help!" Garurumon spoke to Ranetsumon, who nodded. "Prairiemon has gone too far." He gestured to Palmon and Tentomon, now dedigivolved from their champion forms, lying next to Mimi and Izzy. "Let's do a little one-two punch then. Hold out your fist." Garurumon directed Ranetsumon, who did so. "HOWLING BLASTER!" The attack froze Ranetsumon's brass knuckles and caused the digimon to grin. "HIYAH! ICE KNUCKLES!" The combination attack struck Prairiemon and sent the champion-armor level digimon flying into the air, crying out in pain as it dissolved into digital data. "Hmph." Ranetsumon nodded at Garurumon before running off back towards the American Digidestined, who now lay under the sandy tarp.

"Garurumon? Is everything okay?" Matt asked his partner as he, Mimi, Izzy, Palmon, and Tentomon walked towards the group. "Another digimon helped me destroy Prairiemon. I didn't catch its name though." Garurumon dedigivolved to Gabumon. "It was a digimon that I didn't even recognize at all, so it's clearly new to Server." Tentomon seemed puzzled by Ranetsumon. "It didn't even remotely look like any of the digimon on File Island, so I have no clue what it was." Palmon shrugged. "Enough about the new digimon, take a look at these ruins!" Sora drew their attention to the cave that lay behind the wall that had the symbol of the Crest of Hope. "It's absolutely fascinating if you care for this sort of stuff." Tai and Agumon were taking a short nap on the ground. "It's of no use to those guys." Joe pointed to them and continued looking at the ruins.

"Wait! Tentomon! These symbols…" Izzy ran to the walls, Tentomon close behind. "They're the same ones as the symbols in the factory that Andromon was in on File Server!" Izzy pulled out his laptop, intending to analyze the symbols, but was distracted by an email. "Hey guys! I've got a new message from something!" The Japanese digidestined gathered around his computer, allowing the American digidestined to creep closer to the ruins.

"What are they looking at?" Tiffany whispered to Azuremon. "They're surrounding Izzy's computer, so I can't see." She relayed the message to the rest of the group. "It looks like Izzy got an email." Azuremon muttered to himself. 'Datamon…' He thought, dread growing in his stomach. "What are they doing now?" Tiffany whispered as the American digidestined watched the Japanese digidestined disperse. "Probably taking a bit of a breather. They've been going nonstop forever now. They must be exhausted." Azuremon reasoned.

"We've got to be super careful guys. If we make one wrong move, they'll find us." Ally warned the group as they settled in. "Gotcha. Super quiet and no noise." Kangamon gently sat down, watching as Michael put Chinchilmon on his head and sat down. "Ravenmon hop on my shoulder. It'll be easier than avoiding the rocks down here." Luke helped the bird-digimon onto his shoulder while Torpedomon and Linzi sat down, not having to do much to not make any noise. "We're the quiet ones back here." Linzi whispered to her friend. "That's right, and we're the loud ones." Jacob stopped Caninmon before he could trip. "More like the clumsy ones." Caninmon chimed in helpfully, causing Jacob to sigh before sitting down.

"Izzy, what are we going to do? That digimon has my Crest!" Sora spoke up, realizing the danger in their situation. "It's so obviously a trap, so we shouldn't go. I'll live." She decided, but was quickly overruled by Tai. "Don't be ridiculous. We helped everyone get their Crest, so you're no different here." Agumon nodded, backing Tai up. "Don't worry, with all seven of us here, there's no way we can lose to anyone, not even Etemon!" Agumon cheerfully exclaimed while Gabumon and Tokomon echoed his sentiments. "Don't worry Sora, I'll make sure to get it just for you!" Biyomon protectively stood in front of Sora. "Are you guys sure?" Sora asked, tentatively. "Of course! You're part of our family Sora. We'll help you any way we can in getting that Crest." Palmon smiled and Mimi nodded. "There's no question about it." Gabumon agreed. "Well… We still don't know how to get there." Sora tried to protest, but was shot down by Izzy. "The digimon sent me a map of how to get to where he's being held, and a map of the actual building itself. It looks like it's a pyramid." He turned his computer around and showed the group.

"Just as I thought." Azuremon hissed quickly. "What is it?" Tiffany asked her partner. "Datamon is leading them to Etemon's base." Tiffany looked confused. "Datamon? Who is that?" Tiffany asked, but Azuremon brushed her off. "I'll explain when I can actually talk without whispering." Tiffany shrugged and turned to the rest of the group. "He knows what's going on, but he needs to be able to talk without whispering to explain it." Michael raised his eyebrow, but stayed quiet as Ally and Linzi whispered intensely to each other. Luke didn't move and Jacob just nodded.

"It's going to take forever to actually get there though, I guess…" TK sighed at the thought of more walking. "Yes, it will… But that's okay since it's for Sora's Crest." Mimi reinflated herself with that. "We've got to stay positive, because we don't know when we're leaving here!" The girl with the pink hat cheerfully exclaimed. "You can think of it like that, I guess." Joe leaned up against the wall and smudged some of the symbols on the wall.

"WOAH!" Gomamon jumped out of Joe's arms as the ground began to shake. "BRACE YOURSELF! EARTHQUAKE!" Matt grabbed TK and stood protectively over the smaller boy. "EEP!" Mimi barely dodged a rock falling from the ceiling. "Look at the back of the cave!" Tentomon pointed at the slowly collapsing wall that stopped about halfway down the original wall. "Is that where Datamon is being held?" Sora asked Izzy. "It looks like it is. The map points directly that way now." Izzy confirmed. "The gap is still too small for any of us to get through it though…" Tai tried to squeeze through it, but failed. "I don't want to get stuck in the middle and have it close on me!" Agumon looked around the cave for another exit.

"Wait, look at the smudged symbols." Tentomon drew Izzy's attention to where Joe had been leaning up against the wall. "I think whoever smudged these symbols caused the doorway to open!" Izzy exclaimed in excitement. "Oh… I was leaning up against that wall…" Joe sighed as he glanced at Gomamon. "I guess we're going through anyways then!" Gomamon smiled as Izzy wiped the rest of the symbol away. "Brace yourselves!" Biyomon landed on the ground for better support as the ground began shaking again, lowering the wall all the way to the ground so the group could get through to the massive pyramid where Datamon was located. "Hey! We did it guys!" Gabumon and Palmon cheered as the Japanese digidestined walked through the tunnel and found themselves in the mouth of a sphinx near the pyramid. "Alright everyone. We've all got to be on high alert, because we don't know what's in that pyramid." Tai warned the group as they began to plan a strategy to get into the pyramid.

"Everyone, back out into the desert over there away from the ruins." Tiffany took charge and moved the American digidestined far enough away to where the Japanese digidestined wouldn't hear them. "Alright, Azuremon, what's going on with the Japanese digidestined?" Michael asked, getting straight to the point. "That's right! You're worrying us when you don't tell us anything…" Chinchilmon scampered around Michael. "I didn't want to be overheard by them. Remember, we are to help as much as we can WITHOUT being seen." Azuremon reminded them. "We've only had to reveal ourselves three times, and only once was an actual human to human interaction. I'd like to continue that trend." Tiffany nodded and agreed with Azuremon. "Alright, but what were they talking about?" Kangamon insisted.

"It's bad news. Datamon, a powerful Ultimate level digimon in his own right, is luring them to Etemon's main headquarters in order to give them Sora's Crest." Azuremon gave them the short version. "Do they know that it could very well be a trap?" Jacob used his head. "I'm sure they do, but they're young. They think that they're invincible and that they can take just about everything." Luke reasoned. "They can't even handle Etemon by themselves, so why do they think that they can handle two powerful Ultimates?" Ally wondered and frowned. "Here's the thing. They don't know that it's Etemon's base." Azuremon dropped the bombshell. "This is not good." Ravenmon squawked. "To make matters worse, I could feel Etemon's Dark Network coming closer to the pyramid. I think he realized that Datamon was luring the Japanese digidestined in for his own purposes." The bipedal foxlike digimon sighed.

"Okay, so what can we do to help this time?" Torpedomon began to think ahead. "We have to be willing to adapt to their plans, whatever they may be." Linzi told the group. "Protect the humans at all cost, and if need be, help the digimon kick Etemon's butt. Got it." Caninmon woofed and nuzzled up to Jacob. "Easier said than done, but it's possible with all of us that we can beat both of the digimon." Jacob nodded. "It would be even better if Etemon actually attacked Datamon, and vice versa. That way, the Japanese digidestined would only have to deal with one, weakened, Ultimate digimon." Tiffany proved why she was a scientist, reasoning the best possible outcome for the groups of digidestined. "I only hope that Etemon and Datamon hate each other with all of their guts." Kangamon giggled softly.

"Okay, I need to talk to you guys about something." Izzy stopped the group from leaving the sphinx. "I know that we just planned our whole stages attack out, but take a look at this." Izzy lifted his pant leg up and the group saw a shallow cut on his leg. "This happened when I had to dive down during the battle with Prairiemon. It doesn't hurt, but it illustrates a point. We can be hurt here." He let the news sink in. "Now, if we humans can be hurt here, that also means…" He left the statement unfinished, but Tai chimed in. "We can also die here…" The group quickly fell into silence and TK sniffled. "We've all got to be careful." Tentomon broke the silence. "That's right. If we're careful, then everything will be alright." Gabumon forced a smile and ushered TK off to the side.

"Everyone needs to get some good sleep tonight. Tomorrow is a new day and we'll need all the sleep and strength we can get." Tai stood up and stretched. "I'll take first watch." Agumon nodded as well as the duo sat at the entrance to the sphinx. "I'll take second, I guess." Mimi volunteered herself, surprisingly. "Somebody's gotta do it other than Matt and Joe." Palmon explained to the others. "I'll take third shift then." Sora nodded as Biyomon yawned. "Alright everyone. Goodnight, and get some good sleep!" Tentomon buzzed for a minute before sitting down as the group fell asleep, except for Tai, who was on watch with Agumon.

"Agumon, since we're vulnerable to dying, I'll really be relying on you to help." He spoke quietly, so as to not wake the others. "Of course Tai. I'll do my part to keep you safe." Agumon tried to reassure Tai as he cuddled up to his friend. The two sat in silence, pondering the next day. 'Will I be able to keep Tai safe? I can't let another SkullGreymon incident happen, but I'll need all the power that I can get to protect him.' Agumon worked himself up, now determined to protect Tai at all costs. 'Dying? I've never had a near death experience here… Will I be able to lead us well? Am I willing to put myself in danger to save the others? Why am I saying this? Of course I will…' Tai tried to convince himself that it would all go as planned, but he couldn't shake the sinking feeling in his gut that something was going to go wrong.

"Everyone. Get a good night's sleep tonight. Tomorrow is the day where we confront Etemon. Remember what our job is." Tiffany told the American digidestined, who were settling down to sleep for the night. "That's right. We'll do our part as best as we can." Michael murmured before falling asleep, surprisingly quickly for him. "Good luck, everyone…" Azuremon murmured as he and Tiffany stayed up to take the first watch.

TOMORROW IS THE BIG DAY! Will the Digidestined groups be able to defeat both Datamon and Etemon and get Sora's Crest back? Check back next week!


	16. Love's Deception

Disclaimer! I do not own any of this with the exception of the American digidestined and their partners!

Everything else belongs to Saban

Hope you enjoy!

Chapter 16

Sora woke with a start as the sunlight shined into her eyes. She sat up quietly, making sure to not to wake the others. 'Better let them sleep for now…' She internally sighed and dusted herself off. 'Is this really the smart thing to be doing? My friends are being put in danger because of MY crest. I should get it myself.' She closed her eyes again and put her face in her hands. 'Why can't I do anything for myself?' She layed back down and closed her eyes, clearly upset now.

Biyomon shifted as she felt Sora's sadness. "Sora?" She slowly woke up. "Yes, Biyo?" Sora tried to hide her emotions. "Are you okay?" "I'm fine." "No, you're not. Come on, let's go over here so we don't wake the others." Biyomon jumped in the air and dragged Sora outside of the sphinx. "Spill." Biyomon directed as Sora sat down. 'What do I tell her?' Sora wondered before staring into Biyomon's eyes. 'She loves me…' Sora realized as she saw the love and adoration that Biyomon had for her. 'I have to trust her…' "This is my Crest… I should be the one getting it, and it's upsetting me that everyone thinks that I can't do anything by myself…" Sora sniffed and Biyomon gave her a hug.

"It's not that they don't think that you can do anything by yourself, it's that they want to help you because they're your friends." Biyomon forced Sora to look at her. "They know that you can kick anybody's butt any day if you wanted to." "You sure?" Sora glanced at Biyomon, doubt still heavy in her eyes. "Of course! They love you Sora, so they want to help you." Biyomon smiled at her friend. "Well… I believe you." Sora stood up and gave Biyomon another hug. "Thanks Biyo. I don't know what I'd do without you." "You'd probably be getting kidnapped or something." The two laughed and climbed back up the sphinx to wake up the others.

"Everyone, wake up! The Japanese digidestined are getting ready!" Ally shook Michael awake, who rolled over and jumped up, ready to fight. "Woah there!" Luke tried to calm the boy down. "Michael!" Chinchilmon slapped the boy with his tail. "Oh… Um… Sorry…" Michael muttered as he lowered himself to the ground, reaching for his shoes. "It's okay. You'd think by now that you'd be used to these shock awakenings." Ally giggled. "Not really. I'm used to having third watch." Michael explained as Luke nodded. "You're always the one to wake us up, I guess. Still, you do need your rest, so I'm glad that I took this one." The older boy reasoned. "I suppose." Michael sighed as Chinchilmon giggled.

"Do we all know our mission?" Azuremon stood in front of the American digidestined. "Yep! Protect the Japanese digidestined using any methods necessary." Jacob barked back. "And try to avoid being seen!" Caninmon chimed in. "Good. Try to stay out of direct confrontation with Etemon as well." Azuremon reminded them as Torpedomon yawned. "Linzi, Torpedomon, I want you two to stay at the sphinx." Tiffany told the duo. "Why? We're fully capable of helping too!" Torpedomon jabbed the air in front of her. "It's not that we don't think you're capable, it's more that we need someone to keep an eye on TK. There's a high chance that he could be hurt, and that will lower the group's morale significantly." Azuremon explained his reasoning. "Okay, I understand that." Linzi nodded.

"Kangamon, Ravenmon, your job will be to create a distraction for us if we need to rescue one of the digidestined from a tricky situation, okay?" Ally told the two. "Got it!" Ravenmon cawed as Kangamon nodded quickly. "Be careful out there, everyone." Michael left the unspoken words hanging in the air. "We'll get through this. I know we will." Jacob declared confidently. "I hope your confidence pays off." Azuremon muttered to himself. Tiffany put a hand on his shoulder and patted him gently. "Don't worry. It's going to go fantastically." Right as she said that, a chill came over Azuremon and his eyes widened. "I truly hope that you did not jinx us." Luke frowned, but changed it to a smile when Ally glanced at him. 'I've got to be positive and a source of strength for the others.' The thought fleetingly came to his mind and left it just as fast. "Move out." Linzi led the line as they went through the ruins, ending up in the sphinx's mouth while the Japanese digidestined finalized details out on the sand.

"Remember, Mimi, Joe, and Matt will distract anyone if they find us, while Izzy, Sora, and I will go find Datamon using the map on Izzy's computer." Tai raised his fist in the air. "Let's go!" He turned and began to walk towards the base. "TK, remember, if you see anything, you let us know, okay?" Matt gestured to himself, Joe, and Mimi. "Got it!" TK cheerfully exclaimed and, following Tokomon, went to his hiding spot under Mimi's tarp that had been in her bag. "Sora, Izzy, good luck. Be careful guys!" Mimi cautioned her friends as they followed Tai and Agumon to the pyramid. "Do we just wait until something appears?" Joe asked as he sat down on the sand next to Gomamon. Right as he said that, however, the four digidestined there felt the ground begin to shake.

"Guys, the entrance to the pyramid is right over here." Izzy pressed down on a point in the pyramid and it revealed a hidden pathway. "We've got to be careful. Datamon said that there were guards patrolling the corridors." He reminded the other two and their partners. "Don't worry, Izzy. They won't be too hard, they're only guards." Tentomon reminded the red-haired boy. "That may be true, but they could also unleash their boss on us, which would not be good in here." Izzy countered and Tentomon nodded in concession.

"Look! A patrol." Sora pushed Tai and Agumon back as they almost walked in front of the digimon patrolling the corridors. "Are those Gazimon?" Agumon asked, stunned to see the digimon in the pyramid. "Those are. Gazimon are not nice digimon at all…" Biyomon sighed and turned the other way. "The patrols make this way too dangerous." She pointed to the other exit at the end of the hallway they were in. "This exit probably leads downwards to where Datamon is." Izzy smiled eagerly. "Well, let's get going then." Agumon led the group down to the other exit, where they quickly went downwards, ignoring the security cameras spinning in circles above them.

"Heheheheee… Here they come! Once I get my hands on that girl, there's no way that Etemon will be able to stop me! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA-ACK!" Datamon began coughing in the middle of his maniacal laughing fit. "Oh! I really need to stop inhaling those viruses." He giggled evilly and continued working on the glass cage surrounding him. "Once I disable this, I can escape to the secret part of the pyramid underneath the main base…"

"HURRY! THAT DATAMON IS GOING TO PAY THE PRICE FOR THIS ONE!" Etemon growled at the Gazimon who were leading the Monochromon train back to his main base. "And maybe… If I'm lucky, I'll find some Digidestined too! Hey hey hey! Two birds with one stone!" He laughed and began singing poorly. "I'm the biggest, baddest, evilest guy AROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOUND!" He spun in a circle and knocked over a Gazimon who was trying to work on getting the Dark Network set back up. "Oof!" The Gazimon yelled as Etemon glared at it. "Watch where you're going, hey!" Etemon spun again, this time, not running into anyone. "That's how the King does it!" He began to laugh ominously.

Michael kept a close eye on the hidden Japanese digidestined surrounding the sphinx. "The digidestined by the sphinx are hidden well. There's no telling what their next move is." He whispered to Chinchilmon, who scampered off and relayed the message to Tiffany. "Alright. Tell him to keep a close eye on their positions. Linzi has an eye on TK and is ready to move if she needs to." The girl glanced at Azuremon. "That's right. We're all set up over here." Her partner nodded and Chinchilmon scampered off again. "Kangamon, Ravenmon, make sure you keep it down up there." Luke whispered to his partner as he and Ally hid behind two of the pillars. "We got it. We'll make sure that they don't get hurt, hopefully." Kangamon smiled as she readied herself to move if she needed to. "Remember, look for Caninmon and Jacob's signal." Ally reminded the group as she double checked the duo's position opposite Michael and Chinchilmon, watching the pyramid intently. 'I hope this works…' Jacob thought to himself and shivered as a chill went up his spine.

"Guys, it says that there's an actual firewall that will shock us if we're not careful right here." Izzy stopped Tai and Sora before they could go any farther. "All I see is the chain link fence." Tai reached out to touch it, but was stopped by Tentomon. "Don't be reckless, Tai. You do remember that we can die here, right?" Sora reminded him, as Tai's face drained itself of all color. "Right… Izzy, do you know how to get past this?" Agumon saw Tai begin to panic. "Yep. There's one part of the fence that isn't electric. Just let me figure it out real quick." Izzy began typing quickly on his laptop. "There. It's the section of fence directly in the middle." "Let me test it." Biyomon and Sora went through first, unharmed. "Alright. Tai, you're up." Agumon dragged the petrified boy through the fence, unscathed. "Here we go Tentomon. There's no telling what lies on the other side of this fence. Are you ready?" Izzy looked at his partner, questioningly. "I am ready, but the real question is if Tai is ready." Tentomon wisely noted and flew through the firewall. 'I'm terribly afraid that he's right… Is Tai able to do this?' Izzy questioned as he walked through the firewall himself. 'Here goes nothing…'

"Any sign, TK?" Matt whispered to his little brother. "Nope, there's nothing happening out there." TK replied in the negative. "Wait, there is something moving in the distance though." He peered at the slowly growing speck. "Oh no…" Joe sighed as the speck grew larger. "It's Etemon's train!" TK squeaked out. "This isn't good." Mimi sighed. "What are we going to do?" Joe looked to Matt. "Hopefully Etemon won't notice us. If we're unlucky, however, we'll have to fight, and hope to get some outside help." Matt sighed and fixed his hair. "We haven't got any other choices…" Mimi frowned and glanced down at Palmon. "Don't worry, Mimi! I'll help protect you." The plant digimon smiled and gave her friend a hug. "We'll do the best we can, right Joe?" Gomamon looked at his partner. "Exactly. We'll do our best." Gabumon put his hand on Matt's hand.

"Datamon should be right behind this door." Izzy closed his laptop and stared at the door in front of him. "Are you guys ready?" He glanced back at the other two. "I'm as ready as I'll ever be." Sora smiled and Tai nodded. "Here goes nothing." The three entered the room with their digimon in tow to see Datamon trapped inside a small glass cage. "Hello digidestined!" The metallic digimon perked up at the sight of them. "Are you Datamon?" Izzy asked. "That is correct! I'm the one who sent that email." The digimon poked the glass. "Do you mind removing me from my cage? It's awfully cramped in here." Tai walked over to the digimon but was stopped by Sora. "Hold up, we don't know if he's telling the truth about the Crest." Biyomon, flying around the room, nodded and called down. "I can't see it anywhere around here!"

"Well… I suppose I should explain." Datamon sighed. "You see, the sole reason that I am here is because Etemon and I were bitter rivals. We fought often and viciously, hence the scars." He pointed to the shatter glass where his brain was located. "That's one of many." "That's awful! We've got to get you out of here immediately then, so you can help us beat Etemon!" Tai reached for the glass. "Here's the deal about the glass cage… Etemon designed this cage so that only the person who needs the Crest that I have with me." Datamon pulled the final Crest out from behind him and Sora's Tag lit up. "You! You must lift the cage." Datamon grinned eagerly and Sora hesitated. "Wait… You said Etemon trapped you right?" Sora asked Datamon. "That means this is Etemon's base!" Izzy realized with a start and turned around.

"That's right! Hey hey hey! What are you kids doing in the captive room? Datamon doesn't have permission for visitors!" Etemon stood in the doorway, glaring at the group. "NO TIME FOR TAKING CHANCES, LIFT THE CAGE!" Sora lifted the glass cage and threw it to the side. "HAH! I AM FREE!" Datamon jumped onto the floor and glared at Etemon. "You, will have to wait another day! For now, I must make my escape, and YOU'RE COMING WITH ME!" He turned to Sora and Biyomon and grabbed the duo with his extendable arms. "SORA! BIYOMON!" Izzy yelled as Etemon stepped towards the group. "Oh no you don't!" Etemon slammed a fist into the ground, creating a shockwave that threw the group onto the floor. "TENTOMON! AGUMON!" Tai and Izzy yelled. "WE'RE ON IT!" "TENTOMON DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO KABUTERIMON!" "AGUMON DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO GREYMON!" The two champion level digimon began attacking Etemon, who easily blocked their attacks.

"GET SORA!" Izzy yelled at Tai as Datamon ran out of the room, laughing maniacally. "DATAMON! COME BACK HERE!" Tai ran after the traitorous digimon as he ran through the pyramid. "SORRY, BUT I'M AFRAID THAT I CAN'T DO THAT!" Datamon giggled as he ran through the firewall. "Oh no… The firewall! I don't know where the entrance is!" Tai dropped to his knees as he retreated into his mind. 'No! I'm going to lose them!' He thought desperately as time slowed down.

'No… Sora… I can't lose you…' Tai began falling into a dark pit inside of his mind. 'Where am I?' He looked around as he was falling. 'This is your mind… Your worst fears… Your nightmares…' A voice came through the darkness. 'My… fears?' He looked around and saw a body fading into the background. "SORA?!" He yelled out in panic as he tried to move, but was stopped. 'No no no, we can't have that now, can we?' The voice appeared again. 'No! I have to save her!' Tai protested as he tried to move towards Sora's fading body. 'But aren't you scared of dying? Wouldn't it be good to wait for Izzy so you don't die?' The voice hit home, and the scenery changed into a massive ocean. 'I know how much you fear death. You are not invincible, Tai Kamiya. Even you must obey the laws of nature.' Tai began falling into the ocean again, a glazed look appearing on his face. 'Can't… Can't save Sora… Failed…' He closed his eyes and gave up trying to fight the pull towards the bottom of the ocean.

"MAYDAY! ETEMON IS AT THE PYRAMID!" Azuremon exclaimed to Ravenmon and Kangamon, who tensed up. "Tai's in trouble." Michael whispered to Chinchilmon, who ran back to Azuremon and relayed the information. "How can he tell?" Tiffany asked her partner. "Intuition. Michael is incredibly sensitive to others emotions." Ally walked up to the duo. "He's always been like that, in case you haven't noticed." "True true, but Tai is so far away, and he's simply watching." Luke pointed out. "I don't understand the science of it, I just know that he's always been like this." Ally shrugged and went back to watching out of the Sphinx's mouth. "Any sign of the digidestined in the pyramid?" Linzi whispered when she saw the girl. "Not yet. Only a big smoke cloud from Etemon making his unfortunate entrance. I imagine that Greymon, Birdramon, and Kabuterimon are trying to fight him." Ally told the girl, who frowned.

"TAI! WAKE UP, TAI!" Izzy slapped the boy, who woke with a jerk. "GET UP! WE'VE GOT TO GET OUT OF HERE! I sent Agumon and Tentomon ahead already, but we've got to go now! Etemon is distracted by looking for Datamon, so we have a little bit of time to leave, but we need to leave now." Izzy ran through the firewall, and Tai reluctantly followed. 'What's the point in moving? I failed the team…' He sighed and nearly fell up the stairs before Izzy grabbed his arm and dragged him up the stairs. "You can sleep when we get back to the sphinx, okay? Now is not the time!" Tentomon buzzed around as the pyramid went into high alert mode. "There's our exit!" Agumon ran through the door, dragging Tai now, as Izzy and Tentomon hurried out after them.

"There's Tai, Izzy, Tentomon, and Agumon, but where are Sora and Biyomon?" Matt stared intently at the quartet approaching them. "What's the matter with Tai? He looks defeated…" Mimi frowned, and upon not seeing Sora, feared the worst. "Oh, Palmon…" She gave her friend a hug, who returned the tight hug. "Mimi, are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Joe whispered so that TK didn't hear them. "I sure hope not… I hope it's not true…" She sniffled again, and Joe dabbed at his eyes while Gomamon walked up. "I would've felt something if it did happen. Biyomon is connected to us all, and we feel the loss of one of us." "But Sora?" Matt whispered, numb with shock. "I can't say anything about Sora. She's not a digimon." Gabumon chimed in and Gomamon nodded. "We can only hope."

"Guys, it's not good. Sora's not with them." Chinchilmon told the four waiting outside the pyramid. "Where is she?" Tiffany wondered, slowly becoming increasingly concerned. "Datamon got her. This isn't good. Now, both Datamon and Etemon are in the same building with Sora and Biyomon and her Crest." Azuremon guessed. "That's not good at all." Luke frowned as Ally gave Tiffany a hug, sniffling. "We've got to do something." Jacob came out from the Sphinx, having left Michael and Chinchilmon to watch the Japanese digidestined. "What can we do though? We're only six, and Etemon and Datamon could easily destroy us." Luke tried to be reasonable. "With the Japanese digidestined, we make twelve. Surely twelve is enough to rescue and defeat two ultimates." Ally tried to convince herself. "I don't know Ally. It's certainly a long shot, whatever our decision may be." Azuremon shot her idea down. "Remember, we must also be careful because our job is to help from out of sight." Tiffany reminded the group. "At this point, one of their group members' lives is in danger. I think we can afford it." Jacob retorted. "Surely there's something we can do…" Caninmon woofed quietly from his position at Jacob's feet.

"Guys! What happened?! Where's Sora?" Matt yelled from his spot at the base of the Sphinx as Tai, Izzy, and their partners made it back to the Sphinx safely. "The digimon who sent the plea for help, Datamon, tricked us. This is Etemon's base, and he was being held prisoner by Etemon." Izzy explained, out of breath. "He only wanted to lure us in so he could capture whoever's Crest it was and use them in his dastardly plan!" Tentomon buzzed. "How did he get Sora?" Mimi whispered fearfully. "Datamon grabbed her and ran off while we were distracted by Etemon." Izzy pointed to himself, Agumon, and Tentomon. "Where was Tai in all of this?" Joe asked, curious. "He was supposed to go after Datamon, but…" Izzy hesitated. "I actually don't know. What did happen, Tai?" The younger boy turned to the unofficial leader of the digidestined.

"I… I don't know…" Tai gasped and fell to his knees, eyes void of feeling. "Tai? What happened?!" Matt demanded. "You should've gone and chased after her!" He yelled angrily and turned away. "The firewall…" Tai stammered and paled quickly, causing himself to almost collapse. "Tai!" Mimi caught him right before he fell onto the sand. "What's the matter with him?" Matt turned back around and glared at the boy. "He should've gone after Sora! Now she's gone and there's nothing we can do about it!" "We can always try to rescue her." Gabumon pointed out. "There's no use! We don't even know where she is!" Matt snapped, and Palmon glared at the preteen. "With an attitude like that, we might as well go turn ourselves in to Etemon now. Lighten up and have some faith in your friends." Mimi glared right at Matt as well and nodded. "Yeah, we get that Sora's your friend, but she's our friend as well."

"They're arguing pretty fiercely." Michael whispered to Chinchilmon. "This is definitely going to stop them from even trying to put together a rescue effort…" Chinchilmon sighed and whispered back. "The only way that they'll be able to rescue her is if someone talks some sense into Tai. His Crest is Courage, for Pete's sake." Michael sighed, exasperated with the immaturity of the group. "Why did Gennai have to choose developing teenagers to save the world…" Chinchilmon buried his head in his tails. "Well, we're the ones who have been assigned to help them, so we've got to do something, somehow." Michael told the little digimon.

"This is just a mess! They're either ganging up on Tai or ganging up against Matt, who is yelling at Tai! They'll never get Sora back at this rate." Kangamon sighed and watched as Ravenmon, perched above her, swooped down to get a better view. "There's only one way that they'll be able to rescue her, and that's only if they actually put aside their differences and work together for once." The flying digimon noted. "That's exactly right." Kangamon agreed and continued to watch Mimi and Matt go back and forth while Joe checked Tai over for any injuries.

"Tai, I need you to snap out of it. That's the only way we'll be able to get her back, I promise you." Joe kept talking to Tai to snap him out of the trance that he was in. "Sora… Couldn't save her… Failed the team… Don't want to die…" Tai muttered incoherently, causing Izzy and Agumon to listen in closely. "It was the fire wall!" Izzy realized with a jolt. "He was afraid of being hurt by the fire wall!" Agumon exclaimed as well. "Fire wall?" TK, who had been relatively quiet up until that point, asked. "Yes, a chain link that was electrified to the point that it would kill us. It was that which freaked Tai out bad enough to the point of falling into this trance." Izzy decided.

"He's afraid of dying? Of course he is! He's not idiotic! I, however, would've kept going. Sora means that much to me, at least." Matt overheard their discussion, and ducked a slap from Mimi. "Would you quit it out?!" He yelled as the pink-hat wearing girl continued to chase him. "APOLOGIZE RIGHT NOW YOU BIGHEADED IGNORANT!" She screeched as Matt backed himself into a corner. "Woah!" Gabumon turned towards Mimi, surprised to see a frying pan in her hand and waiting to be slammed into Matt. "A frying pan?" Palmon asked, now extremely confused. "I keep lots of things in my bag." Mimi explained before turning back to Matt. "Ugh, whatever. We've just got to get Sora back somehow." Matt sighed, sufficiently cowed by Mimi's frying pan. "That, I can agree with." Joe nodded.

"Tell the others that they're making a plan to rescue Sora, but Tai's gone into a depressive trance, so he's basically completely out of it." Michael whispered to Chinchilmon as the rodent-like digimon scampered off. 'I only hope that Tai can snap out of it in time to help them with Etemon and Datamon. They need all the help they can get.' The boy kept perfectly still as the Japanese digidestined split up to continue planning.

Our Heroes are within reach of the final Japanese Crest, but it comes with a grave price! Their decisions tricky, the two groups of Digidestined must rescue Sora from Datamon and Etemon's clutches before it is too late!


	17. A Helping Hand on All Sides!

Disclaimer! I do not own any of this with the exception of the American digidestined and their partners!

Everything else belongs to Saban

Hope you enjoy!

A/N: I hate myself for this chapter. I'm sorry in advance. Also I'm so sorry for this taking so long to be uploaded. My computer room is being prepared for remodeling, so I've been unable to get to my computer for most of the day. This won't affect next week's upload though, as renovations will be done by Tuesday. Also, if you enjoy reading my story, please leave a review! An author can only get better if given constructive criticism. Much love and I'll shut up now

Chapter 17

Tai felt his head hit the sand as he collapsed, slipping out of Joe's arms. "TAI!" Joe yelled as the group's leader's eyes closed. 'No… More…' Tai thought vaguely before he slipped into the blessed darkness. "Tai! Speak to me…" Mimi gasped as she turned away from Matt to kneel next to the boy. "Hmph." Matt turned around and folded his arms, despite the worry he held for Tai. 'Whatever. He'll get what he deserves.' "Izzy, is he okay?" Tentomon asked his partner. "I don't know, Tentomon… I've never dealt with something of this kinda before." The boy stammered and sighed quickly. "He looks so sad…" TK walked over to Tai and sat next to the boy. "Tai, wake up please…" He sniffled and put his hand in the older boy's hand. "TK, I'm sure he'll wake up soon." Tokomon tried to cheer the little boy up.

"Did he just faint?" Michael whispered in shock. "I know that feeling too well." Jacob, who had crawled up next to Michael to help watch, looked at the other boy, surprised. "It's a depression thing. You're so disappointed and upset and depressed about yourself, or with something else that you can't deal with it anymore." Michael explained as quickly and quietly as he could. "Ah. That makes sense." Caninmon, who had quietly come up with Jacob, woofed. "Explains a lot, doesn't it." Chinchilmon said quietly before running back to talk to the other group about what was happening.

"Wow… This is really affecting him that badly…" Ally frowned. "I'm surprised that it hasn't affected Michael at all yet." Luke noted. "What's that supposed to mean?" Kangamon turned to the oldest of their group. "I mean like he's normally really sensitive and perceptive on that stuff!" Luke protested as Ally and Kangamon approached him with fire in their eyes. "He really didn't mean anything bad guys, I promise!" Ravenmon laughed a bit as Luke backed himself into a corner. "Hey guys, remember. The big picture here is Etemon, not Luke." Torpedomon stifled a giggle and Linzi nodded. "As much fun as we're having out here, there's one thing that is clear." "We've got to save Sora and Biyomon and get that final Crest from Datamon and Etemon." Tiffany interrupted. "I know this is totally against anything that I would ever normally do, but I have to talk to Tai, and quickly." She stared at Azuremon, waiting for him to object. "I assume you have a reason." Azuremon spoke quietly. "Of course. If Tai keeps up like this, he'll never get out of the cage in his soul." Tiffany looked out into the desert sky. "There's something there that is preventing him and I intend to help him break out of the cage." She declared defiantly and Linzi smiled at her friend's determination.

"Tai, please wake up!" TK looked at Tai's face as Joe dabbed his forehead with a cloth. "I don't have any water nearby, so this is the best I can do, I'm afraid." He sat up and groaned. "It's killing my back though." "Let me take over, Joe. You get some rest." Mimi took the cloth and continued dabbing at the sweat on Tai's face. "Tai, when are you going to wake up?" Agumon sat next to his partner and stared at him. "Don't worry Agumon! He's bound to wake up sometime soon. He can only sleep for so long, you know!" Palmon tried to be cheerful for the group. "I appreciate the cheerfulness Palmon. If only someone could take lessons in that." Gabumon sighed and watched his partner as he kicked the sphinx aggressively. "Matt is still only a young kid, Gabumon. He's got a lot of time to grow still." Gomamon hopped up to the other digimon. "He's right. When he matures, I just know that he'll be a wonderful person." Tentomon tried to reassure Gabumon as well. "That is very true. I just wish it would happen soon, because this is getting to be too much for our group." Gabumon sighed and followed Matt's gaze to the pyramid where Sora was trapped.

"LET ME GO!" The stubborn girl hollered while Datamon strapped her down to an operating table. "Hey now, there's no need to be resisting. I only need you for a little bit and then I'll… Let you go." Datamon left a slight pause and cackled evilly. "What are you going to do to me?" Sora demanded to know. "Oh, you know… What you do to captives." Datamon avoided the question and began to press a series of buttons on the motherboard in front of him. "Sora, we've got to get out of here!" Biyomon, also trapped on the wall next to Sora, cried out. "That's right! Datamon, we're going to get out of here somehow, and our friends will come to rescue us too!" Sora declared defiantly. "Good luck with that one. Your friends are already arguing. Look." Datamon pressed a button and a screen appeared in front of Sora's face. It showed Tai's collapse and Matt's look of disgust and gazes at the pyramid. "They're stronger than you think! I know they'll come rescue me." Sora ignored the screen in front of her and continued to believe. 'They've got to…' She thought to herself to try to cheer herself up.

"This isn't good. It's getting to be nighttime and we still have no clue where they're keeping Sora, and they're still fighting." Michael came back to the main group. "Jacob's up there watching the Japanese digidestined right now." Chinchilmon told Azuremon. "Is Tai awake?" Tiffany asked the two. "Yes, but not functioning. I think he's on autopilot, like he's broken inside." Michael answered in the positive. "That's good enough. I'll talk to him tonight." Tiffany walked to the side as Ally and Linzi and their partners joined Michael, Chinchilmon, and Azuremon. "They're already starting to make a plan for a rescue attempt." Michael told Azuremon. "When?" Ally asked him. "Tomorrow. They're making serious progress. The only one not doing anything is TK, and he'll be watching Tai, who is kinda not doing anything." The boy shrugged and frowned. "This isn't good at all…" Linzi frowned as she watched the sunset.

"Guys, will we be able to help them at all tomorrow?" Jacob came up behind the group. "Tiffany is watching now, by the way. She wants to see if she can get to Tai tonight." He explained quickly. "The only way that we'd be able to help tomorrow is by protecting TK when they leave him by the sphinx." Luke told him. "All the others will question our help, but he's so young that he won't know what to ask." Ravenmon flew around Luke's head in a circle. "Is Azuremon going to be okay?" Ally whispered to Michael and Linzi. "Honestly, I'm not sure. The fact that we have to help defeat Etemon is taking more out of him than he thought it would, I think." Linzi responded quietly as Michael watched Azuremon stare into the quickly fading into black night sky. "It's troubling, but I know we can do it. We beat evil Antylamon, didn't we? It's possible that we can beat Etemon now too." Michael attempted to boost the morale, and got a smile out of Kangamon and Caninmon. "That's right guys. We can't give up now. If we have to, we'll reveal ourselves and help them destroy Datamon and Etemon and rescue Sora!" Jacob smiled and put his hand in the middle of the group. Michael followed, as did Luke, Ally, and Linzi. "AMERICAN DIGIDESTINED!" They cheered as quietly as they could, so as to not disturb the Japanese digidestined. "It's go time. Let's get some sleep for tomorrow. It'll be intense, for sure." Azuremon walked back over and sent them to sleep. "Tiffany, do what you need to do and get back here, okay?" He whispered in the dark, the fear in his voice palpable. "I don't think I can lose you too…" The digimon wiped away a single tear and turned to look back up at the pitch black sky. "One more try…"

"It's nighttime. We all need our rest to get the plan together tomorrow." Izzy told the group. "Don't bother trying to set up a watch. Nerves are too bad, so we all need our sleep." Matt spoke softly and made sure TK fell asleep. "Goodnight everyone, and good luck." Mimi whispered as she lied down on her hat as a soft place to put her head. 'Darkness… Like my soul…' Tai opened his eyes and saw the pitch black sky. 'I should go… They won't miss me. I messed up too badly…' He stood up, despite his shaking limbs. 'Go to the pyramid… Turn myself in to Etemon…' His legs began to move despite having no energy. 'Move…' He thought. It was the first sense of motivation in his thoughts that day.

"I'm off. Good night guys, I'll let you know in the morning how it goes." Tiffany walked into the sphinx in search of Tai as the American digidestined fell asleep. "Good luck, Tiffany…" Michael sighed as Chinchilmon curled up to him. "I'll do my best." The older girl nodded and smiled. 'Here goes nothing…' The holder of the Crest of Determination dropped quietly off of the mouth of the sphinx. She landed softly as to not disturb the sleeping Japanese digidestined. 'There. Tai's right there.' She thought to herself as she followed the boy who was quickly walking to the pyramid. 'I've got to stop him!' Her eyes widened in shock. 'He's heading right to give himself up to Etemon!' She sped up, not caring about the noise she made.

"Tai." She grabbed his shoulder and he spun around. "Huh. Are you here to kill me?" The boy's eyes were glazed over and he wore a sad smile. "Kill you? Of course not…" Tiffany sighed. "Rather, I'm here to make sure you live again." The older girl adjusted her shirt. "Live?" Tai trailed off and looked towards Etemon's pyramid. "There's no point. I failed my team…" He sniffed and wiped the beginnings of tears off of his face. Tiffany wrapped the boy in a hug. "Everyone makes mistakes, Tai… One mistake does not equal the end of everything that you've ever had, hun." "But… One of my best friends is doomed to die and her best friend hates my guts now because of it… I miss my home, and I miss my mom and I miss my friends and I miss everything about my home and it seems like we'll never be able to get back, and we'll all die so I might as well just die now and get it all over with!" The boy screamed and tore himself away from Tiffany, tears streaming down his face. He began running back towards Etemon's pyramid, not caring if anyone heard him anymore.

"TAI! STOP!" Tiffany followed after the boy, quickly catching up to him due to her longer legs. "Tai… You can't give up. The fate of the entire world rests upon you. I know you're only eleven, and I know you just want to be a normal boy, but look at this beautiful world. Look above you, now." She caught him again and forced him to look up. "Look at the night sky. Isn't it beautiful? Look at the night sky. See the different colors?" She stared up at the sky with him. "It's so… Beautiful…" Tai looked up and saw the deep black contrasting the white lights of the stars. "D'you see it? Yes, there's darkness, but the stars shine through the darkness, no matter what." She pointed to the lights in the sky. "Is there light in the darkness?" Tai asked the girl. "Of course there is. The light is always shining, even in the darkest of nights. No matter how dark your darkness may be, know that there is always at least one shining light in your life, no matter what." Tiffany smiled at the boy.

"Are you… An angel?" Tai asked the girl, who blushed immediately. "Anyone can be your angel if you let them, Tai… You have to see the light in any situation. You can still save your friend." She smiled softly. 'Azuremon, I might need some help in making Tai think I'm an angel.' She asked for Azuremon's help in her mind.

At the entrance to the sphinx, Azuremon sat up, and nodded. 'I'll help as much as I can, Tiffany.' The digimon smiled and began thinking of ways to make an angel disappear.

"Angels can appear in any shape, even if they are digimon. They are creatures of the light, and they'll help you through all of your darkness." Tiffany gave Tai a reassuring hug. "I feel a little better now…" Tai murmured as he sighed, exhausted now because of the day. "I know it's never going to be easy in this world, but you must fight, and you must survive, for you and your family." Tiffany smiled and stood. "Do you have to go?" Tai watched as the girl stood up. "I do. I'll be watching you, Tai Kamiya. If you ever need help again, remember me, and I will come to you." The girl began to walk away. "Goodbye, angel!" Tai waved goodbye to Tiffany as she slowly faded into the nighttime.

'Now, Azuremon!' She thought to him, and he began to move. 'TRIAN BEAM!' The attack hit the ground near Tiffany and created a bright explosion that forced Tai to look away. The dust cleared quickly, and Tiffany was gone, out of Tai's sight. 'I should go back to the group now. I've got to be as healthy as I can for the fight tomorrow. I'll never ever give up, ever again.' Tai thought, defiantly staring at Etemon's pyramid now. He quickly made his way back to the Japanese digidestined and fell back asleep quickly. 'Goodnight… And good luck, everyone…'

The Next Morning

"Good morning everyone. It's time for our quest to rescue Sora to begin." Matt woke up and began to wake the rest of the group up. "I feel like I'm as ready as I'll ever be." Joe stood up and brushed off his pants. "We're ready to do our part too!" Palmon cheered as Mimi woke up too. "Everyone! Wake up! It's time for our battle!" Izzy nudged Agumon, Tentomon, and Gabumon awake. "Tai, are you here?" Agumon turned to Tai and was surprised to see his eyes wide open. "I'm awake and ready to go." Mimi beamed at him and TK's eyes shined in admiration. "Are you back now?" Matt glared at the pyramid. "I needed someone to talk some sense into me, so yes, I'm back now." He stood up and smiled at the group. "I'm ready to do whatever I have to do." "That's wonderful to hear! In that case, you're coming with me again, and we're heading to where I located Sora." Izzy smiled and pulled out his laptop. "She is in the very bottom of Etemon's base, farther below than all of the main floors. There's only one way to get to it, and that's through another fire wall that Datamon programmed." Izzy glanced up at Tai to see his face.

"No worries. There's no way I'm hesitating on that ever again." Tai grinned confidently. "It's great to see you back in tip-top shape, Tai. The general plan is that you and Izzy will be going into the pyramid with Tentomon and Agumon to find Datamon's lair. Meanwhile, Matt, Mimi, and I will be creating a diversion outside of the pyramid so Etemon won't find you. TK will be hiding near the sphinx, so he doesn't get hurt." Joe explained the plan quickly. "I'm all for it. Let's get going." Tai looked into every one of his friends' eyes. "We're strong, guys. We can do this, and though it's going to be tough, we have to be tougher and stick it out. I believe in us." He smiled and Agumon nodded. "Let's do this, DIGISTYLE!" The four heading into the pyramid quickly began walking to the pyramid again while the others prepared for the distraction. "Alright guys. Who wants to meet the big monkey himself?" Matt asked the other three. "I'll go hide now." TK ran over to the sphinx and dug underneath the tarp to hide himself. "Alright. Remember, distraction is our priority. Be careful, guys." Joe looked at the other two, who nodded. "Let's go!"

"They're enacting their plan now." Chinchilmon told Tiffany and Azuremon. "Same roles as yesterday, guys. Linzi, you and Torpedomon keep an eye on TK. Everyone else, be prepared to rescue some digidestined butt." Tiffany declared after she had finished telling the group about her encounter with Tai. "Here goes nothing!" Linzi walked into the sphinx with Torpedomon and hid herself so that she could see TK. 'I really hope this turns out…' Torpedomon prayed to the Digital Mother. 'This will go how it's supposed to, but I really hope it's in our favor.' Michael thought to himself as he watched the four left at the sphinx begin their distraction.

"DIGIMON! DIGIVOLVE!" Matt cried out as Gabumon, Palmon, and Gomamon began to digivolve. "GABUMON DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO GARURUMON!" "PALMON DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO TOGEMON!" "GOMAMON DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO IKKAKUMON!"

To gain the attention of Etemon's minions, Ikkakumon quickly went on the offensive. "HARPOON TORPEDO! OVER HERE YOU BIG LUGS!" He fired an attack off at the pyramid and successfully hit it. "Bull's-eye!" Joe cheered for his digimon.

"DIGIDESTIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINED!" Etemon jumped out of his base and growled at the digidestined. "HOW DARE YOU DISTURB MY BEAUTY SLEEP, HEY HEY HEY!" Etemon growled and punched the ground. "NOW! IS THIS THE BEST YOU CAN GIVE ME?!" Etemon jumped up and knocked Togemon down and into Garurumon. "Don't give up guys!" Matt yelled as the digimon got back up. "Let's go for round two!" Togemon yelled. "NEEDLE SPRAY!" Her attack struck Etemon, who took the attack without breaking a sweat. "HARPOON TORPEDO!" "HOWLING BLASTER!" The other two attacks struck Etemon when he was distracted, causing him to flinch. "GRRRR!" Etemon began to sing off-key, causing the digimon to collapse. "THE Noises… It's awful…" Garurumon tried to cover his ears with his paws. "Bow to the King!" Etemon struck a pose as Mimi, Joe, and Matt looked on in terror.

"Izzy, is this the firewall?" Tai asked as they came upon another chain link fence. "Yep. Going through this firewall will lead you directly into Datamon's hidden base." Izzy nodded. "The way to get through it is directly in the middle. If you go right in the middle, you'll be safe and come to no harm." "Izzy, at this point, my life is not the most important thing right now. Sora's safety is." Tai told the boy. "Uh…" Izzy looked perturbed, but nodded. "I think both of your lives are incredibly important if you ask me." Tentomon buzzed and flew through the fire wall with no hesitation. "Let's go, Izzy." Tai walked through with Agumon right before Izzy followed him.

"TK! Watch out!" Matt called out as Etemon deflected one of Garurumon's attacks towards the young boy. "AAAAAIEEEE!" TK yelled in terror as the attack grew closer to the boy. 'I've got to move!' Linzi gasped as she saw the attack get close to the boy. "Torpedomon, now it's time for plan 4!" She whispered intently as she dropped down and tackled TK away from the attack right as it hit the sand in front of them. "Now, Torpedomon." Linzi kept rolling away from the sphinx with TK as Torpedomon created a bigger disguise of sand to hide them. "TK, I know this is weird and I just met you, but I need you to trust me and not tell your brother who I am, or that I even exist. Just make sure that you tell him that the attack hit the sand near you and not you, okay?" Linzi gave the boy a hug. "Uh… Okay! Thank you, Miss!" He giggled as Linzi jumped up and ran behind the sphinx. "Okay, clear, Torpedomon." She whispered as the digimon stopped the sand spray.

"Woah… Torpedomon, look. My Crest just appeared out of nowhere…" Linzi gasped as she saw her yellow Crest appear. "It must have been triggered by TK's trust in you, Linzi." Torpedomon reasoned as the bright yellow Crest with a strange pattern on it clicked into her tag. "The Crest of Trust." The strange looking crest told Linzi. "It's got a circle in the middle, but it's surrounded by three triangles that are connected by arcs. It's so cool!" Linzi giggled as she hugged Torpedomon tightly.

"TK! Are you okay?!" Matt gasped as he saw his little brother, unharmed. "I'm okay! It didn't hit me, it just landed right in front of me." TK smiled as his brother checked him. "I'm fine! Watch out for Garurumon!" TK yelled as Garurumon took another hit from Etemon, throwing him back. "This is a waste of my time! I know exactly where your little friends are, and now I'm going to go kill them all!" Etemon ran back towards the pyramid and charged inside. "TAI! IZZY! BE CAREFUL!" Mimi yelled at the pyramid.

"DATAMON! STOP THIS NOW!" Tai ran into the room and glared at the digimon typing away at the motherboard. "Oh, hello there! Are you here to watch the show?" Datamon cackled as he kept powering a scanner. "You're just in time for the main event! You see, I'm going to copy dear Sora here, and use her Crest of Love to force Biyomon to digivolve and destroy Etemon for me!" Datamon giggled evilly and grinned at Sora, who kept struggling in her bonds. "Let me out of here!" "Don't worry, Sora! We'll save you!" Izzy declared as Agumon glared at Datamon. "Here goes nothing!" "AGUMON DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO GREYMON!"

The dinosaur digimon growled angrily at Datamon and stomped his feet. "Careful now, wouldn't want to destroy the floor!" Datamon giggled and pointed at the wires crawling through the floor. "You see, the benefit of being at the bottom of Etemon's pyramid is that underneath this is the Pure Dark Network! Anything that falls in there…" He paused ominously. "Never comes out again." Izzy turned away from Tentomon after whispering intently. "Got to buy time." He whispered quickly to Tai. "Got it." Tai responded and turned to Datamon. "What are you going to do with Sora after you've cloned her?!" He demanded to know. "Well, that's simple. I'm going to drop her into the Dark Network, along with you two!" Datamon activated the scanner, which began scanning Sora over and over, creating a clone of her on the lab table next to Datamon. "Oh, and if you have anything else to say, you might as well say it now, because very soon, you shall all be dead." Datamon giggled as the scan progressed quickly.

"TENTOMON NOW!" Izzy yelled as his partner reached Biyomon, undetected by Datamon. "Huh?" The machine-like digimon turned around in shock as Biyomon was released from her chains. "NO!" Datamon gasped. The ceiling began to cave in as well, when suddenly, Etemon broke through the ceiling and into Datamon's laboratory. "NO! ETEMON!" The digimon gasped. "Ya know, I hate to say it now, but you digidestined did lead me right to Datamon! Maybe I'll let you die a painless death!" Etemon growled as he turned his attention to Datamon.

"Sora! Here!" Tai and Izzy helped untie her bonds. "Thank you guys so much! Now let's get out of here! Biyomon's got my Crest. It's the Crest of Love, and I just need it to get in my tag." She smiled as the group, along with Tentomon and Biyomon ran out of the room as the floor began crumbling. "GREYMON! COME ON!" Tai yelled as Greymon quickly dedigivolved and ran out the door as well. "DATAMON, IF I'M GOING DOWN, YOU'RE GOING WITH ME!" The floor of Datamon's laboratory quickly disintegrated, and Etemon grabbed Datamon before he could escape and dragged the two into the Dark Network.

"Quickly! Before the pyramid collapses on us!" The six ran through the firewall as if it wasn't even there. "I think Datamon's too busy to keep up with his fire walls anymore." Tai noted, as the group had passed through all parts of the wall without being affected. "This way." Izzy directed the group through a virtual maze of tunnels to the outside of the pyramid. "NOW! GUYS! THE PYRAMID IS ABOUT TO EXPLODE!" Sora yelled as Biyomon and Tentomon began digivolving. "BIYOMON DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO BIRDRAMON!" "TENTOMON DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO KABUTERIMON!" The two flying digimon grabbed the rest of the group and carried them towards the sphinx.

Once they had landed, they reunited with the other members of their group. "Sora! We were so worried about you!" Mimi hugged her friend. "It's so nice to see them reunited and happy again, isn't it?" Michael whispered to Chinchilmon, who was watching while Ally and Kangamon stood behind the two. "It's not over quite yet. Look." The American digidestined crowded the sphinx's mouth as much as they could to get a better look at what was happening to the pyramid. "The pyramid is sucking itself in!" Joe pointed to the black ball that was once the pyramid. "That's not the pyramid anymore, it's Etemon!" Tai yelled as he stood his ground in front of their enemy. "Hey hey hey, digidestined! Nice of you all to come see your final show! When I fell into the Dark Network, I wasn't killed by it because I own it! It does whatever I tell it to do!" Etemon growled at the digidestined.

"You…" Matt gasped and looked at the giant ball of wires surrounding Etemon's lower body. "That's right! I used the power of the Dark Network and combined it with myself! There's no way I'm losing to you freaks now!" Etemon began to laugh evilly.

"No." "Huh?" Etemon stopped laughing abruptly. "I said NO!" Tai was looking down at the ground with his hands clenched in fists. "What do you mean, no?! You don't have a choice in the matter!" Etemon became angry again. "That's where you're wrong, Etemon! I… I have to admit. There was a time where I wasn't sure if we were ever going to go back to the real world again, but now I'm sure of it. I'll never give up fighting until we, and I mean each and every single one of us, gets to go home and see our families again. I'LL NEVER GIVE UP! DO YOU HEAR ME ETEMON?" Tai yelled, glaring at Etemon with defiance in his eyes.

"Yes, Tai, you can do it! I believe in you." Tiffany spoke softly, but Azuremon heard her. "It worked?" "It worked." 'Tai… Use the power within your heart and you can do anything!' She projected her feelings out to Tai, and he gasped. "THAT'S RIGHT! WITH THE POWER AND POTENTIAL IN ME AND EVERY SINGLE ONE OF MY FRIENDS, WE CAN DO ANYTHING!" He yelled as his Crest began to glow. "Woah! What's that?!" TK became entranced by the light. "Tai! This energy! I've never felt anything like it before! I think I can digivolve again!" Agumon cheered. "Well, let's test that theory, how about it?" He smiled at his partner. "Here goes nothing!" Agumon cheered.

"AGUMON DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO GREYMON!" The dinosaur digimon didn't stop there. "GREYMON DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Greymon's skull became cloaked in a digizoid chrome metal, and claws on both of Greymon's hands were created from the same material. He gained a cannonlike weapon on his chest that opened up and shot too warning shots at the ground near him, creating a large explosion. A pair of wings also grew out from Greymon's back, made of the same digizoid chrome metal as his skull. "HIYAH! METALGREYMON, THE WARRIOR OF COURAGE!" The newly-digivolved MetalGreymon landed on his feet and glared at Dark Network Etemon.

"What? How is this possible?!" Dark Network Etemon yelled as he tried to charge at MetalGreymon. "HIYAH! GIGA BLASTER!" The hatch on MetalGreymon's chest opened up and two powerful missiles launched themselves at Dark Network Etemon, hitting him in the massive ball of Dark Network and causing it to explode.

"WOAH! EVERYONE! WATCH OUT! IT'S CREATED A BLACK HOLE!" Matt yelled as he grabbed on to TK. "TAI, GET OUT OF THERE!" Sora yelled as Tai and MetalGreymon slowly were sucked closer and closer to the black hole. "Tai, no!" Tiffany gasped as she watched MetalGreymon try to stop Tai from falling in, but failing once MetalGreymon lost his energy and dedigivolved back into Koromon. "No!" Izzy yelled as Tai and Koromon fell into the black hole. The black hole closed in on itself right as they fell in, allowing no one else to enter it.

"Yes… Etemon is dead… But at what cost?" Joe sighed and sat down while in the sphinx, Azuremon comforted Tiffany. "Why couldn't he have been more careful…" She sniffed, drying tears with the edge of her shirt. "This just means we have to keep an extra close eye on these digidestined from now on, right Ravenmon?" Luke asked his partner, who simply nodded, still shocked at Tai's disappearance.

Etemon is destroyed, but seemingly, so are Tai and Koromon! As they try to recuperate from their losses, the Japanese digidestined must prove that they're up to the task of surviving in the Digital World without their fearless leader, all while trying to escape new threats from within and the outside!


	18. The Aftermath

Disclaimer! I do not own any of this with the exception of the American digidestined and their partners!

Everything else belongs to Saban

Hope you enjoy!

A/N: As we begin the third arc of the story, I'd like to take a moment to thank my first reviewer, isaiahcarroll968, and the three followers of this story, Aris Moon, DragonEmperor999, and Redder45, as well as all of those who have read my crazy shenanigans so far. Much love  
A/N 2: ALSO I'm super sorry for how long this update took! kept giving me an error regarding microsoft word's file extension-anyone had any issues with that in the past? I eventually switched to wordpad, but it's not the same. Anyways, sorry for rambling and I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Chapter 18:

"What just happened?" Ally whispered as she watched the Japanese digidestined celebrate momentarily. "That was Tai unlocking the power of his Crest, and utilizing it to destroy Etemon." Azuremon explained, his eyes narrowing as the cloud of dust blew away, showing no sign of Tai or Koromon. "But where did Tai and Agumon go?" Kangamon piped up, peering around Ally's legs to get a better look. "They're gone. Not in this world anymore. The force of the explosion did something… But they're still alive. I can feel that much." Azuremon sighed and turned around as the Japanese digidestined began to realize that Tai was gone. "What's that supposed to mean?" Linzi turned around and stomped her foot. "They've got to still be here, otherwise that would mean that their job here is done and everyone would be gone." Torpedomon objected. "Listen guys, we don't know where Tai went. For all we know, he could be back in the human world, trying to find a way to get back to his friends." Tiffany met the eyes of everyone in the sphinx. "For now though, while Tai gets back to his friends, we've got to keep them as safe as we can at all costs. At this point, if there is an opportunity to help the digidestined, we MUST take it." She told the group, determination and fire in her eyes. Michael smiled briefly and nodded. 'That's it. Now we're talking sense here.'

"TAi, YOU STUPID BELLY-BRAINED IDIOT, WHERE ARE YOU?!" Matt hollered at the top of his lungs. TK sat nearby, hugging Mimi, who was trying to comfort the younger boy. "Hey, don't worry TK. He's here somewhere, i know he is." The girl smiled at TK, who managed a half-smile. "Are we gonna die Mimi?" He asked softly, eyes closing. "No, TK. Not as long as I have anything to say about it." Mimi gave him a hug and stared worriedly out at the desert. 'At least I hope not…' She voiced her fears in her mind.

"Can you find anything on your laptop that could help, Izzy?" Tentomon asked his partner. "That's what I'm trying to do right now. If Tai or Koromon are anywhere in this world, than we'll know fairly soon." Izzy began typing faster on his laptop, sitting in the shade of the sphinx so it wouldn't overheat. "With any luck, he'll have just been teleported to another part of this world, where we can use our digivices to contact him and direct him to our location." The boy's fingers suddenly came to a stop as his eyes widened. Palmon, who had just walked up to the two in the shade, stared at the computer screen. "Tai Kamiya, personal file of the Digital World…" Her mouth fell open.

"Matt, please! You need to calm down!" Gabumon tried to reason with his friend. "Gabumon, I can't calm down! That stupid idiot has gone and gotten himself killed or something!" He fell to his knees suddenly and punched the ground. "Yeah, we had our fights and didn't get along most of the time, but he was still my friend in ways that i couldn't even understand…" Matt's eyes began to water, but he wiped the tears away before they could fall. "He's still alive. I know that much. An explosion wouldn't take him out that easily." He put on a tough exterior and went to his little brother to try and comfort him.

"Joe, what are we going to do?" Sora turned to her friend, tears in her eyes. "Tai's gone, we're in the middle of a desert, and we don't even have a way to get home!" "Sora, you've got to calm down. Things aren't as hopeless as you think they are. For instance, Izzy told me last night that there's a forest a few miles away that we can get to fairly easily. It's bound to have food, and we can survive there for a while." Joe tried to keep a level head. "I know that, but what about Tai? Where is he!?" Sora hugged her friend tightly before turning towards Izzy in the shade. "Any luck?" She asked Biyomon to check on the search progress.

"Sora wants to know if you guys are having any luck looking for Tai." The flying pink digimon landed softly near the trio staring at Izzy's computer screen. "What is it?" She asked Palmon. "Just look at the computer screen." The plant-like digimon told her and Izzy turned the screen towards her. "Tai Kamiya, age: ten, dimension of birth: Earth, dimension of current: Earth. Medical conditions: Situational depression." Biyomon stared at the screen in shock. "Sora, Joe? You might want to see this." Gomamon, who had also made his way over to the four, called his partner and Sora over.

"Are they all just staring at Izzy's computer screen?" Michael asked. "Yep. It looks like it's a personal database of some kind." Tiffany told him. "Chinchilmon, can you go down and get a better look at it?" "Sure! No problem at all." The small digimon scampered around and peeked at the computer screen, seeing all of the data on Tai. Chinchilmon's eyes widened and he turned around to report his findings. 'Oh dear, that is quite a bit…' Michael's partner thought to himself as he frowned. 'That poor boy… No wonder he was so shaken up about Sora's capture.'

Jacob sat outside of the sphinx in silence. "What are we going to do guys?" He asked the group. "Well, as I see it, we have two choices. Do as we were told to do when we came here, which was to save and help the digidestined, or we could try to find a way out of here for ourselves. Something tells me though, that the latter option isn't exactly a feasible possibility right now." Luke explained, putting things rationally. "Exactly. All we can do at this point is wait for the other digidestined to make a move and we follow that move." Ravenmon nodded in agreement. "You're definitely right, but it makes me very nervous." Caninmon woofed quietly in anticipation. "Yep. I don't like waiting around and doing nothing." Jacob patted his partner's head. "Unfortunately, we don't have a choice this time." Linzi chimed in. "Hey guys. We've got some good news and some bad news. Which do you want first?" Azuremon walked up to the group sitting there. "Good news. We could all use some." Ally told him. "Well, the good news is that he's alive." Azuremon smiled and got smiles from the rest of the group. "The bad news?" Kangamon frowned and waited for the bombshell. "He's in the real world." Tiffany strode up to Azuremon. "Oh…" Torpedomon snuggled up to Linzi and sniffled.

"It's getting to be nighttime." Mimi whispered to Matt, as he slowed to a stop. "Do you see anyplace we can sleep?" He snapped at her. "Hey, don't yell at her! She's only trying to make sure that YOUR little brother is okay. Look at how tired he is." Sora got in Matt's face as he turned to his brother. "Oh… TK, are you okay?" He let the hard exterior slip and fell to his knees in front of TK. "'M really tired…" TK collapsed into Matt's arms and promptly fell asleep. "I can see that, little buddy…" He looked up. "I guess this is where we camp. On the edge of the forest." The group had only been walking for a little while, but like Izzy had said, they were on the fringes of the desert, quickly reaching a forest. "Good. Anyone want to keep watch?" Sora asked. "I'll do it then, I guess." She volunteered herself. "Get ready for sleeping guys. We've got a long day ahead of us." Joe told the group. 'More like a long few months…' He sighed inwardly and put on a brave face for Mimi and the sleeping TK.

"Looks like they're stopping for the night." Ally pointed out as Linzi pulled the tarp out of her bag. "I'll take the watch, I guess." Ally smiled and Kangamon groaned. "Taking the night watch is the worst!" Kangamon complained, but was promptly shut up by Ally's glare. "I mean… the night watch is wonderful! What could ever be better than the night watch!" She smiled, forcefully, causing the two to start laughing. "Alright girls, if you insist." Michael shrugged and began to get ready to sleep. "Good night guys. Here's to another exhausting day of walking tomorrow." Jacob cynically remarked, getting a soft snort out of Caninmon.

During the Middle of the Night

Sora stood up slowly, so as to avoid making any noise. 'Alright, Sora. If you're going to find Tai, this is the best time to leave.' She steeled herself and began walking farther into the woods, inadvertently waking Biyomon. "Sora?" The digimon whispered softly. "Go back to sleep Biyo. I'll be back soon, don't worry." The girl smiled. "Don't be silly, Sora. I know that you're leaving. I'm not gonna stop you, just gonna follow you." Biyomon chirped. "Now, you don't be ridiculous. I don't want you to get hurt." "Sora, I'm your protector. I'm supposed to protect you, not the other way around." Biyomon giggled quietly. "Alright then, I guess I'll let you come with me." Sora gave in, and the duo began walking into the forest.

"Pst… Kangamon. Wake up. We've got to follow Sora and Biyomon." Ally whispered to her partner. "Huh?" Kangamon sleepily raised her head, but shook herself to fully wake up. "Let's go. I've left the others a note as to where we're going. We'll find them eventually, but for now, our number one priority is to keep up with Sora." Ally picked Kangamon up and ran off into the forest, following Sora. "You… Sure… Do… Weight… A lot, Kangamon…" Ally, out of breath, put the now fully awake digimon on the ground and kept running. "Wait for us, Sora." Kangamon spoke and chased after Ally.

"Sora's gone." Joe woke up and immediately noticed her disappearance. "Oh no… What are we going to do now!?" Tokomon exclaimed and began to cry. "Hey now, we'll find her too! There's nothing to be worried about, okay? Sora and Biyomon will be fine, and we'll find them really soon. They can't have gone too far so quickly." Mimi smiled at the digimon while a sleepy Gomamon and Palmon woke the others up. "We've got to stick together until we find Sora and Tai, okay guys? That's the only way we'll make it in this world, you heard Pixiemon." Matt stood up quickly and started into the forest. "We'll eat while we're walking. We've got a lot of ground to cover."

"Guys, Ally went after Sora." Luke told the group. "Oh dear God, no…" Michael began to panic. "Michael, snap out of it. She's taken very good care of herself this far, so there's no reason to fear that she won't continue to do so." Linzi pointed out. "You didn't know her on the streets. This is a girl who wouldn't eat out of a trash can, or beg for food at the corner. She was starving until I found her." Michael shot back. "There's no need for arguments. The point is that we need to find Sora, Ally, Tai, and keep up with the other digidestined, okay? That's still our number one goal, to protect the digidestined at all costs." Tiffany interjected and stood up. "Quickly. The other group is on the move now, so we've got to go as well. We'll be covering lots of ground today." Azuremon began walking and directed the group into a hidden spot where they could follow the other digidestined.

"Biyomon, how long do you think we've been walking?" Sora, starting to get tired, asked her friend. "Well. We started around early morning, and the sun is just starting to get hot, so I'd say for a good six hours or so." Biyomon chirped. "We've been eating well, and there are next to no harmful digimon in this forest, so this is almost the perfect place to live in this world." Sora smiled, optimistic about their chances. "Right as I say that though, it almost seemed to get colder, didn't it?" She turned around suddenly, expecting to see someone following her. "What was that?" She heard a rustling in the bushes in front of her. "Who's there?! Show yourself!" She yelled as Biyomon flew protectively over her. "If you insist!" A small bat-like digimon flew down from the tree limbs overhead.

"Kangamon, what digimon is that?" Ally whispered as Sora ducked underneath the creepy digimon. "Oh no… That's DemiDevimon, a tricky little rookie digimon who leads people to his master's layer through tricks and deceit." Kangamon frowned. "Who is his master?" Ally asked. "Myotismon…" Kangamon shuddered and flinched. "Not a good digimon?" "Not at all. He's the newest up and coming evil bad guy around the northern part of Server…" "This isn't good at all. Is there any way that we can stop him?" Ally asked her friend. "DemiDevimon is a weak digimon, so he should be easy to defeat. Let's see what Sora does first, though, just in case we aren't needed." Kangamon reminded Ally of their initial mission. "Alright, but if he starts to get her feeling down, then we step in, okay?" "Okay."

"What do you want?" Sora glared at the digimon. "Oh, I just wanted to tell you some things! Things that you should know! I am DemiDevimon! A rookie level digimon with a penchant for telling the truth!" The evil digimon sniggered. "Truth? I know everything about me though. My family, my friends, my lifestyle, there's nothing to be told." Sora stated as Biyomon flew a little lower to begin whispering in her ear. "Ohoho! That's exactly what I'm here to talk to you about! Deep in your heart, there's that nagging feeling of something being wrong, isn't there?" DemiDevimon flew a little bit closer. "Well… Now that you mention it, there are things I guess I don't entirely understand, but I never have really thought about them." Sora looked away, suddenly doubting herself. "Yes, yes, I see! It is your mother, is it not?" Judging by her shocked expression, DemiDevimon assumed that he had hit a nerve. "Ohohoho! It is! You were never loved as a child, were you?" His voice grew quiet and Sora leaned in. "All the times… All the times that my mother stopped me from doing something that I wanted to do… Was it love?"

"Absolutely not! You didn't grow up with love, rather you were just another thing for your mother to worry about! A burden, a chore given to her by a man." DemiDevimon cooed evilly. "A… burden…" Sora muttered. "That's right! And your friends never really loved you either! They always used you to survive in this world, even if you loved them!" DemiDevimon cackled as Sora fell to the ground. "THAT'S ENOUGH!" Ally stepped out from behind the bushes with Kangamon, fire in her eyes. "DemiDevimon, you are the digimon of deceit and trickery! Leave her alone!" Kangamon growled and charged at the rookie digimon. "EEP! TIME TO RUN!" DemiDevimon turned around and began flying as fast as he could through the thick jungle. "GET LOST!" Ally hollered after the fleeing digimon, before turning to Sora.

"Hey, Sora? Are you okay sweetie?" She stepped towards the girl, but remembered that Biyomon was right there above her. "Here, maybe I should explain a bit. My name is Ally Warner. I'm thirteen years old and I'm from the U.S.A. I'm part of a separate group of digidestined who were sent to this world to help protect your group." Ally smiled cheerfully and Biyomon relaxed a little bit. "How do we know that you're telling the truth?" Sora asked, voice quiet after her encounter. "Do you remember those two digimon that helped defeat Tyrannomon and Prairiemon? Those were the champion forms of two of my friends' digimon." Kangamon spoke up, smiling at the girl. "I trust her, Sora." Biyomon spoke quickly. "She's the only friendly face I've got right now…" Sora sighed and accepted Ally's hug, "How are you after that encounter?" Ally asked softly. "I'll be fine. It's brutal, but I'll live." Sora sighed and stood. "I'm going to keep walking, if you're coming with. I'm looking for our leader, Tai Kamiya." Sora briefly explained and offered a hand to Ally. "Well, let's get to finding him." Ally took her hand and smiled.

ONE WEEK LATER (DIGIWORLD TIME)

"We haven't seen any sign of either Sora or Tai in forever." Mimi sighed. "Don't worry. We know that Sora is in this world, and we know that Tai is alive, so there's always a chance." Izzy patted his laptop, which was leading them towards a place where some of the local digimon said they had seen a figure that looked like Tai. "That's right. We've got to stay optimistic and keep looking." Joe quashed his darker thoughts and put on a positive side for the group. "Gee! That's a far cry from a couple weeks ago, Joe." Gomamon teased his partner, who simply grinned. "Hey, you've got to keep the mood up somehow." Matt cracked a slight grin, enticing a smile out of TK as well.

"Gabumon, are you sure that you haven't seen that place yet?" Tokomon asked the mammal digimon. "I'm sure. We're probably still a long way away." Gabumon nodded. "Well, we've got to be getting close to it. We've been walking forever!" Palmon complained. "Well, at least we're out of that desert! Your roots were getting dried in there." Mimi looked down at her friend. "That's true! My roots were so dry when we came to the forest that even soaking all night didn't get them back to the way they were." Palmon glanced down at her feet, still tender from the desert. "At least they're not wrinkled anymore." TK giggled softly, almost drawing Palmon's ire.

"Their morale is really high for being so separated and frazzled." Michael smiled. "Joe is really stepping up big time, otherwise I think they would've splintered a long time ago." Tiffany noted. "I've noticed that Joe is getting restless though, especially at nighttime when he has the watches. There have been several times when I almost went after him because he left the area." Luke pointed out. "You worried that he's going to pull a Sora?" Ravenmon wondered. "Yeah, a little bit. I don't think it's unfounded worry though. He's got the best chance of the others to find either Tai or Sora." Luke turned away and looked at the colorful flowers of the forest. "It's really quite beautiful here." He smiled softly.

"Any luck on your guys' end?" Linzi asked Jacob, who was running slightly ahead of the group. "Luck on what? Finding Tai and Sora in a bush?" Jacob bitterly turned around. "Well we'll never find them with that attitude." Torpedomon stabbed the air with her horn. "Watch where you're stabbing that thing!" Caninmon jumped back as he narrowly avoided the horn. "Well, maybe we will find them after we get dimensionlifted back to the real world and into a mental health asylum." Jacob snorted and dodged a punch from Linzi. "This is a real situation Jacob, why can't you be serious about this?" The normally level-headed girl turned around and stormed off towards the main body of the group, Torpedomon hot on her trail. "What did I say?" Jacob stared incredulously at Linzi's retreating figure.

"Punch the tree." Tiffany had three words for Linzi when she got back. "Don't want to break my hand." She hissed through gritted teeth. "Why can't he be serious? This is an incredibly dangerous period that we're going through, and we have a very real possibility of losing our lives!" The girl almost hit the tree, but missed and grabbed a bunch of branches instead. "Let your anger out. It's only natural." Azuremon nodded sagely. "He's right, you know. Just like how Tai's defense mechanism is isolation, and Michael's defense mechanism is worry, Jacob's is humor. He blocks out the world through his occasionally-twisted sense of humor." Tiffany explained. "Yeah, you've got a point." Linzi conceded. "It's still the most annoying thing in the history of the world." "That it is, Linzi, that it is." Torpedomon nodded her head hurriedly, getting a giggle from the girls.

"Joe, is something the matter?" Izzy walked up to the older boy. "It's more like what's wrong, at this point." Joe frowned and rubbed the back of his head. "Don't think like that, Joe! There's always the positive side of life!" Tentomon tried to be optimistic. "I appreciate the enthusiasm, Tentomon, but Gomamon and I are going to look for Tai and Sora ourselves. Splitting up gives us more of a chance to find them, and I'm determined to get our group back together." Joe sounded like his decision was final, and Izzy did little to argue. "Joe, if you insist, you can go. Be careful though. We don't know what's out there. I'll be watching your profile to see how you're doing." Izzy frowned and turned away as Joe and Gomamon started walking. "Izzy?" "Yeah?" "Take care of Mimi, Matt, and TK for me, okay?" "I will Joe, don't you worry." "I hope I won't have to."

"Joe just left." Luke told the group. "I saw he and Izzy talking, and then Joe walked away with Gomamon in tow." "Well, what do we do now?" Linzi asked the older teen. "Go after him. I'm leaving as soon as possible. Someone's got to keep an eye on him." "Wait, what?!" Linzi's mouth fell open in shock. "Yep. It's okay, Luke. We understand." Tiffany walked up to the two. "Go. We'll manage." She smiled and pushed him along. "Ravenmon, we're going with Joe!" Luke called to his partner, who followed Luke, trying to catch up."Here goes nothing. Good luck guys!" Luke waved goodbye to his friends as he followed Joe farther into the forest. "Well, we're both down to four then." Michael sighed as he picked up Chinchilmon. "All we can do is keep moving on." Azuremon stood next to Tiffany as they watched over the Japanese digidestined as Izzy broke the news to them.


	19. Discoveries!

Disclaimer! I do not own any of this with the exception of the American digidestined and their partners!

Everything else belongs to Saban

Hope you enjoy!

A/N: This is one of the chapters where I didn't really know where it was going until it happened. I think it turned out pretty well.

Chapter 19

THREE WEEKS AFTER JOE AND LUKE LEFT THE GROUP 

"There's literally nothing in this forest." Mimi stopped where she was at the back of the group. "Sorry Mimi, but it's not like we have anywhere else to go." Izzy frowned. "We've been looking for Tai for almost a month now. Are you sure that your file thing is telling the truth?" She questioned his laptop. "Hey now, the file has been accurately telling us exactly where Joe is, and his health and wellbeing." Izzy defended his pride and joy. "Yeah, but what about Sora?" Mimi pushed. "Well… I don't know. It might be because she doesn't want us to find her." Izzy sighed. "Well, does your computer have an answer for that?" Mimi asked him. "Not really… But I'm sure if I worked long enough, I'm sure I could find out a way to bypass the block…" Izzy pulled out his computer and began typing. "I DON'T CARE ABOUT THE DARN COMPUTER ANYMORE! I'M HOT AND TIRED AND I WANT TO FIND MY FRIENDS AND I WANT TO GO HOME NOW!" Mimi yelled and began to sob. "Oh! I'm sorry Mimi! I didn't mean to make you cry!" Izzy, startled greatly by Mimi's sudden sobbing, stood where he was in shock. "Mimi, please don't cry!" TK gave her a hug and kept hugging as the girl continued sobbing.

"This… Isn't good." Tiffany's face fell. "Those four are finally getting on each other's last nerve, and it's starting to splinter them. Even TK is starting to get annoyed with some of Izzy's quirks." Azuremon dropped down from the tree that he had been watching the Japanese digidestined from. "When TK gets annoyed, that sends up a major red flag." Jacob frowned. "Is there anything that we can do?" He asked. "It doesn't seem like much can happen honestly. All we can wait for is the final switch to blow the dynamite on the tension." Tiffany sighed and turned away from the Japanese digidestined to look at the slow steam being created by the hot spring behind the groups. "At least the hot spring is good for stress relief…" Michael tried to get near it, but backed up, coughing wildly. "Are you okay?" Chinchilmon asked his partner with worry-filled eyes. "Yeah… I"m fine… The hot spring is filled with sulfur." He burst their dreams of being able to relax in the springs.

"Alright. I guess we're stopping here for the night…" Matt said to no one in particular. "This is really not good…" He sighed and waved his hand in front of Izzy. "Snap out of it, Izzy. You've got to apologize to Mimi." As he had done before, Izzy frowned and then turned away. "You know what?" He raised his voice slightly. "No. I'm done apologizing every time that Mimi bursts into tears! She's so immature and unable to handle the simplest physical tasks that she's just a dead weight in this group!" He yelled, shocking Matt, who had never heard the boy yell before. "Don't be ridiculous, Izzy. We're all tired and hungry, that's all this is!" Matt almost started yelling before he saw TK standing there. "We'll all feel better in the morning, you hear?" He stopped himself and sat down. "Right TK?" "Right, Matt!" TK agreed, the worry obvious in his eyes as he watched Mimi and Izzy approach each other.

"Well guess what, computer nerd?!" Mimi started yelling at Izzy. "IT'S YOU AND YOUR STUPID COMPUTER THAT ARE DRIVING ME INSANE! Every time before we make a decision, it's always 'Oh, let me check the probability of this on my computer!' Or, even better, 'let me consult his file to see if he's okay!' MAYBE YOU SHOULD TRY CARING ABOUT PEOPLE THAT ARE NEAR YOU!" She burst out into tears and began to run away. "Mimi! WAIT!" Matt, not expecting the girl to run, stood up and tried to stop her. "NO! LET ME GO!" Matt took a step back from Mimi as the girl turned towards him again. "Listen to what I'm saying." She glared at Izzy, who glared right back. "I never want to see him again, okay? I don't want to be friends with him, I don't want to know him, and I just don't want to see him." She turned away. "I feel the same." Izzy snapped, his voice cold. "Um…" Matt stood, shocked at the emotions expressed by the two. "I'll be leaving now, if you will." Mimi turned around and started walking off. "Palmon? You coming?" She called to her digimon, who was resting in the sun. "Yeah! One second, Mimi!" Palmon jumped up and the two walked off away from Matt, TK, and Izzy. "I'll be leaving now too." Izzy, and Tentomon, who had heard the entire argument, began walking in the opposite direction of Mimi. "Well… That's not good." Matt sighed and turned to TK. "Well, looks like it's just you and me bud!" He smiled cheerfully for TK's sake, but inwardly cursed himself for not working harder to save the relationships of the group.

"Well that was pretty bad." Michael frowned and turned to the other three and their partners. "You can say that again." Torpedomon frowned. "Who's going after Mimi and Izzy?" Tiffany asked. "I'll go after Izzy. That boy needs to learn to loosen up, and I think if he gets in a bit of trouble, it could work well with me." Jacob flashed a grin at the others. "Well, if you insist." Caninmon shrugged. Well, as much as a dog-like digimon could shrug. "I was thinking we should follow Mimi, Tiffany." Azuremon spoke up, and Tiffany nodded. "I agree. That girl needs to learn how to toughen up, or at least be exposed to some of the tough parts of the world." Tiffany smiled softly. "Well, you better get going, I guess." Chinchilmon poked Tiffany. "Yeah! Don't want to lose them already." Linzi started pushing Jacob in the direction that Izzy had walked in. "Bye guys!" The two following Mimi and Izzy waved goodbye to their friends and walked on. "And then there were two." Michael frowned slightly as he and Linzi watched TK and Matt try to recuperate from the argument that splintered the small group.

TWO WEEKS LATER

"It's been so long since we've seen the others, hasn't it?" Jacob spoke quietly to Caninmon. "It's been about two weeks." Caninmon woofed. "Two weeks of following Izzy up and down these mountains." Jacob sat down on a relatively dry rock among the snow covered rocks that surrounded him. "He's just looking for answers right now." Caninmon reminded the boy. "Yes, answers are all good, but there's also the question of finding Tai and the others. We've gone so far, that I'm not sure we'll ever make it back." Jacob looked over the valley at the bottom of the mountain. The luscious green grass waved in the wind, making it look like there was a sea of green at the foot of the mountain. "At least this is beautiful." He sighed and resolved himself to enjoy the wilderness while Izzy continued his search.

"Mimi's so lost now, isn't she." Tiffany facepalmed as the younger girl screamed and ran into another tree. "You could say that." Azuremon stifled a chuckle when Mimi threw a spiderweb into the woods. "THIS!" They could hear her yelling. "IS THE WORST!" She got louder. "PLACE!" Tiffany covered her ears and Azuremon braced himself. "EEEEEEEEEEEEVEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERRRRRR!" Mimi screamed and sat down in protest of the land. "Mimi, this is the only way to get out of the forest though." Palmon sighed and pulled her friend up. "Yeah, it's gross, but if we want to get out of here, we've got to go!" She smiled cheerfully. "Let's sing a happy song!" The duo began to skip towards the exit of the road while singing, drawing the attention of two nearby digimon. Tiffany and Azuremon heard a slight rustling noise, and the duo decided to stay farther behind than they normally would to watch for any enemy digimon.

"Izzy, don't you think that now would be a good time to stop for some rest?" Tentomon, clearly exhausted, tried to stop the determined boy. "In a little bit, Tentomon. I've got a feeling that we're starting to get close to something." Izzy sped up a bit and Tentomon collapsed. "Izzy…" The weakened digimon cried out to his partner. "Tentomon!" Izzy turned around and was stunned by the sight of his digimon weakly trying to stand. "Hold up buddy, there's some food in my bag." Izzy pulled out their rations from the beautiful forest that they had gone through previously to get to the mountains. "Eat this." He made Tentomon eat a red fruit. "So… Yummy…" Tentomon sighed contentedly and finished the fruit. "Maybe it is time to stop for some rest, and maybe some lunch!" Izzy sat down and took off his backpack, pulling out some fruit for him as well. "Yummy fruit, isn't it?" Tentomon slowly stood up and took another piece of fruit.

As the two ate, their crumbs began rolling down the side of the hill, leaving an enticing aroma for all to smell and follow. The crumbs came to a stop at the entrance of a cave that led downwards. Two bright red eyes appeared out of the darkness, and the crumbs disappeared as a whip-like blur passed through the entrance of the cave.

"They stopped for lunch, so now we can finally have our lunch." Jacob also took off his backpack and gave Caninmon some fruit. "I know that fruit isn't your most favorite thing on the menu, but for now, it'll do." He smiled at his partner. "I'm thankful that we even have food up here." Caninmon nodded as their crumbs joined izzy's crumbs in rolling down the hill. "I'm kinda surprised that no digimon have come to attack us yet. We're pretty obvious, but I guess in the mountains, they save energy for actual useful stuff, rather than trying to chase little sticks of meat around." Jacob looked around, half-expecting an Airdramon to attack or something. "Be careful what you wish for." Caninmon began looking around as well.

"Something's moving." He barked right before the earth began to shake. "Watch out!" Jacob ducked as a rock flew over his head. "Be quiet." Caninmon hushed him as they ducked into a corner of the path. "No noises." The duo watched as a giant shadow walked right past them. "Oh no… It's going for Izzy…" Jacob realized as he peaked his head out and found himself face to face with the digimon. "Guess there's no hiding this one!" He yelled and, grabbing Caninmon, jumped out of his hiding spot a few seconds before it was crushed. "UH OH! This guy is Groundramon! He's the digivolved form of that Coredramon we fought under Antylamon! He's an ultimate digimon, and his Giga Crack attack will send us right into the center of the Earth!" The duo stared up at Groundramon, ready to do what it took to beat the hungry digimon.

"Um… Mimi?" Palmon suddenly heard the rustle in the bushes. "Yeah, Palmon?" The owner of the bright pink hat asked. "I think we're being followed." Palmon dropped her voice to a whisper to avoid being overheard. "They either picked up on us, or on the other group following her. Let's hope it's them." Azuremon dropped down out of the tree and quietly whispered to Tiffany. "It better be. We're so far back that we can't even hear them, much less them hear us." The older girl frowned, but watched as the two digimon snuck up on Mimi and Palmon. "Those are Geckomon and Otammamon, and they're peaceful rookie digimon, who just want to help others and wake their big boss guy up." Azuremon explained quickly. "Why do they need Mimi?" Tiffany asked again. "Their big boss, ShogunGeckomon, can only opened by breaking the seal, which is broken by an angelic voice singing to it. They must've heard Mimi's voice and thought she was an angel." Azuremon reasoned. "It's the only logical explanation that makes sense."

"EEK!" Mimi screamed when she saw the digimon. "AWWWW, you guys are so cute!" Palmon had the exact opposite reaction. "Mimi, calm down! These digimon are Geckomon and Otammamon! They're peace-loving rookies who just want to make music with their boss, ShogunGeckomon." Palmon smiled at the small digimon. "Well, um… Yeah… About that… You see, our boss has been asleep for a really long time now… We don't know if he'll ever wake up." The two digimon began to talk to Mimi and Palmon. "Oh no! That's awful!" Mimi frowned. "But the legends say that if an angelic voice sings to his statue, then he will wake up and lead us again!" Geckomon exclaimed excitedly. "What does that have to do with me though?" Mimi asked, confused, despite Palmon's sudden realization. "We think you have that angelic voice!" Otammamon cheered, happily bouncing around Mimi. "Um… Well, I guess I can give it a shot." Mimi shrugged. "What is there to lose?" Palmon agreed. "OH YAY! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!" The two digimon began celebrating exuberantly. "We'll take you to our castle right away!"

"This is another recipe for disaster." Tiffany sighed as she and Azuremon followed Mimi, Palmon, Otammamon, and Geckomon to the castle. "Twenty digidollars that she won't sing, but she'll be pampered." Azuremon sighed in irritation. "Bingo." Tiffany replied as they continued into the darker part of the forest. "Is it just me or is this forest getting creepier by the second?" Tiffany asked Azuremon. "You're right. It's going to end up being a haunted castle or something, and ShogunGeckomon isn't asleep, but rather dead." "No need to be so negative about it. He could be in a coma too." "That's not much better, Tiffany." "I know, I know…"

"GIGA CRACK!" Groundramon slammed his body into the earth and created a large fissure. "SPLIT!" Jacob yelled as he jumped to the side, barely avoiding one of Groundramon's hands. "Do you want me to digivolve?!" Caninmon asked his friend. "NOW WOULD BE PREFERABLE!" Jacob yelled as he continued to dance around Groundramon, avoiding its attacks. "On it! CANINMON DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO RANETSUMON!" The lupine digimon jumped onto Groundramon's back and punched one of it's arms. "WOLF KNUCKLES!" The attack caused Groundramon to flinch and turn around, looking for the disturbance. "UP HERE, BIG BOY! WOLF KNUCKLES!" Ranetsumon bought Jacob the time that he needed to come up with a quick plan that would get rid of Groundramon.

"RANETSUMON! TURN HIM AROUND SO HE'S FACING ME!" Jacob yelled as he planted his feet precariously near the edge of the path up the mountain. He turned behind him and gulped, fear evident in his eyes. The drop from the path to the valley below was incredibly steep, and at the bottom of the valley lay a river that flashed angrily with white foam. 'Okay Jacob, now is not the time to fall into the river, okay? Focus on what you've got to do.' Jacob turned back around to face Groundramon, spinning around in circles while trying to find Ranetsumon. "NOW, RANETSUMON, JUMP AND SPIN HIM SO HE'S FACING ME!" Jacob yelled, and Ranetsumon, albeit reluctantly, did as he had been told. "WOLF KNUCKLES!" The attack struck Groundramon and forced it to spin around, aiming it directly at Jacob. "GRAAAAGAGAHAAHAGAGA!" The enraged digimon began running at Jacob at full speed. "HERE GOES NOTHING!" Jacob yelled and Ranetsumon prepared to run in at full speed and stop Groundramon if Jacob's plan didn't work.

"EEP!" Jacob fell to the ground on all fours and made himself as flat as he could, allowing the surprisingly fast Groundramon to pass right over him and off of the cliff. "WOO!" He cheered as Ranetsumon walked over to him and picked him up. "If you ever pull a crazy stunt like that again, I will be most displeased." The digimon placed him on the ground, where Jacob stood up. "Thanks buddy. I would've been toast if it weren't for you." He gave his partner a hug before Ranetsumon dedigivolved into Caninmon. "I do what I can!" Caninmon woofed happily. "We should probably hide just in case Izzy heard all of that and is now trying to find us." Jacob spotted a hole in the cliff and the duo went inside to hide from Izzy and Tentomon, who were heading down the mountain path in search of the noises.

"Woah! This thing is massive…" Jacob looked around as he and Caninmon ducked inside of the cave before Izzy and Tentomon saw them. "Is this where Groundramon lived?" Caninmon wondered, sniffing. "Yep! It smells like it." The digimon rubbed his nose with a paw. "It stinks in here to my poor nose…" Jacob laughed softly. "Let's try to explore this place, okay?" The two felt their way to the edge of the room. "Wow. That had to be at least forty feet…" Caninmon looked around. "It's still too dark to see, but we can at least try to make it to the back wall now." Jacob started moving again. "Be careful. There's less and less light the farther in we get, and we don't know if Groundramon survived that or not."

"This is crazy…" Jacob smiled as the two reached the back of the cave. "It's literally a set of ancient ruins." Caninmon began sniffing around. "Groundramon's scent is nowhere near here. It's almost like this was never meant to be discovered!" He woofed excitedly and began pawing around at the ground. "I'm gonna dig a little bit to see if there's anything here." The two split up and the cave lit up suddenly. "Caninmon. Over here." Jacob stood next to a light switch. "Somebody lived here, or at least had the technology to install something like this." Caninmon looked at his partner, puzzled. "Oh. It's a light switch. It's supposed to turn on these things called light bulbs that are miniature suns, except without the harmful UV rays that sunburn your skin." Jacob explained, forgetting that his partner had probably never heard of such a thing before.

"Hey! Look over here!" Caninmon began running towards a computer screen. "A computer screen too? Let's see if anything happens if I turn the power button on…" Jacob pressed the power button and the screen came to life. "What does that say?" The boy leaned closer, but was thrown back by an unknown force as a small holographic ball appeared in front of Caninmon. "COMPUTER ACCESSED! RUNNING DATA! DATA RAN!" The computer whirred to life and Jacob sat up. "What is it doing?" He wondered as the computer screen lit up. "RUNNING PROGRAM PROPHECY!" Jacob's eyes widened. "Prophecy?! Oh lord… Why is it always me who finds this stuff…" He facepalmed, but looked up when the ball began to glow.

"LONG AGO, IN THE VERY BEGINNING OF THE DIGITAL WORLD, THERE WERE FOUR BLESSED SOVREIGN DIGIMON. THEY PROTECTED THE DIGITAL WORLD UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF THE GREAT DIGIMON MOTHER." The computer projected noise out of the sphere. "Caninmon, are you hearing this?" Jacob asked his partner. "You betcha. Remembering this would be good." Caninmon woofed quietly before the computer continued. "OPPOSITE THE FOUR SOVREIGN DIGIMON WERE FOUR DARK MASTER DIGIMON. THESE DIGIMON WERE CREATED BY A POWER BANISHED LONG AGO TO BEYOND THE WALL OF FIRE. LONG AGO, THE FOUR DARK MASTER DIGIMON DEFEATED THE FOUR SOVREIGN DIGIMON AND LOCKED THEM AWAY. THE DARK MASTERS RUN FREE AND AWAIT THOSE DESTINED TO DEFEAT THEM." "What does this even mean?" Jacob glanced at Caninmon. "My best guess is that these are the true enemies." Caninmon shrugged. "ONE AWAITS THE POWERFUL WARRIOR OF COURAGE. ANOTHER AWAITS THE GREAT WARRIORS OF FRIENDSHIP. THE THIRD AWAITS THE FAIR MAIDENS OF LOVE, KINDNESS, AND LIGHT. THE FINAL DARK MASTER FACES THE WARRIOR OF HOPE. ONCE THE DARK MASTERS HAVE BEEN DEFEATED, THE WALL OF FIRE-" The transmission abruptly cut off and the computer turned off. "What? What about the Wall of Fire?" Jacob stomped his foot. "It cut off right as it was going to explain it all…" Caninmon growled and turned around to look back at the entrance. "We'd better get out of here. We don't want to lose Izzy and Tentomon because of a prophecy." Jacob began walking out, trying to memorize as much of what the orb had said as he could. 'Four Dark Masters?' He thought to himself. 'This world just keeps getting more and more dangerous…'

"This is our castle!" Otammamon and Geckomon smiled and presented the dreary and dark castle to Mimi and Palmon. "Oh… It's made of very nice stone." Mimi lamely tried to think of a compliment. "Oh no, this is not its true color. That will be unlocked when the Boss wakes up!" Geckomon smiled eagerly and began to lead the two inside. Palmon sighed when a crowd of Otammamon and Geckomon came out and picked Mimi and her friend up to carry them into the castle. "PRINCESS MIMI! PRINCESS MIMI!" The digimon began to chant as Mimi smiled and cheered as well.

"Fork over the twenty digidollars now." Azuremon smirked as Tiffany gave him a high-five. "I've got no money here, remember." She stuck her tongue out at him. "Whatever. We've got to make sure we get into the castle too." Azuremon laughed quietly and began to pull Tiffany into the trees, where he saw a separate path leading to the castle. "Why are we going this way?" She asked him. "They're taking her through the important entrances, and we need to go through the normal entrance, otherwise they'll never let us see her." Azuremon explained quickly as the two approached the door. "Let's disguise ourselves as housekeepers or something, that way we can get to where she'll be."

"Princess Mimi, do you need anything?" One of the Geckomon bowed to her. "Oh? I would like a nice shower, and maybe a new set of clothes too." Mimi giggled softly. "Of course, of course! Right away!" The Geckomon and Otammamon started busying themselves tending to Mimi and Palmon's every desire. "Oh, this is absolutely wonderful!" Palmon declared as she put on a fabulously pink hat, similar to Mimi's hat. "This bed is just so comfy!" Mimi jumped on the bed and was whisked away into the shower. "HOT WATER?! EEEEEEEEE!" She squealed as Palmon sat in the corner again and soaked away the excess water. "This is wonderful!" Palmon declared as she relaxed in the hot steam of the shower. "I never want to leave this place again…" Mimi sighed contentedly being bathed by the hot water.

"They're not leaving." Tiffany whispered to Azuremon as the duo, dressed up in housekeepers clothing, exited Mimi and Palmon's rooms. "They're already in love with the place, and I don't think that, unless they waken ShogunGeckomon, they'll leave." Azuremon agreed completely. "Honestly, yes, it's disappointing, but it's to be expected. Mimi is a pampered city girl who isn't used to roughing it for more than a day, and even that is in an R.V., or a mobile house." Tiffany sighed as the two walked into the servant rooms. "I guess we're going to be here a while then, until Tai comes and finds them." Azuremon sat in a chair and readied himself for the next call for assistance.

Michael and Linzi sat down at the top of a cliff while watching Matt and TK play in a nearby stream. "Look at them have so much fun! It's wonderful to actually watch them be able to relax for once." Linzi giggled. The sound of laughter was music to her weary ears. "I just hope this peace between those two keeps up. It's such a beautiful relationship there." Michael looked over the gradual hill that opened up into a flowery field full of blossoming sunflowers, daisies, orchids, roses, lilies, and many other beautiful flowers.


	20. A New Enemy!

Disclaimer! I do not own any of this with the exception of the American digidestined and their partners! I also don't own Chris Rea's Light of Hope! NOTE: Slightly altered lyrics to help relate to text better.

Everything else belongs to Saban

Hope you enjoy!

Chapter 20

TWO WEEKS AFTER TIFFANY, MIMI, JACOB, AND IZZY LEFT THE GROUP

"Linz, you seeing anything?" Michael called up to the girl from the tree that she was in. "Nothing much. Matt and TK are still talking by that lake. I hope everything's alright." She climbed down from the tree and accepted Michael's help in maneuvering the rocks surrounding the tree. "Be careful. Your arm is already pretty scraped up from that fall you took a while back." Michael jumped over to another secure spot and helped Linzi up to him. "I'm trying, you know I am." Linzi laughed a bit as she gracefully climbed up another tree to get a better look. Not long passed before she poked her head down. "Matt's on the move. They just split up." She told Michael, who sighed. "I'll go after Matt, you watch TK, okay? Be careful." He hugged Linzi. "I should say the same to you." She smiled and started walking around the trees to watch TK. "Here goes nothing." Michael called for Chinchilmon, who hopped on his head. "Let's go Torpedomon!" Linzi called out to her partner. "I'm coming!" Torpedomon plodded along after Linzi, taking care to stay out of sight.

"Matt…" TK sniffled as he watched his brother looked away. "Yeah, TK?" He turned around. "Please come back…" The little boy began to cry. "Hey now, don't cry, okay? Be strong for me. I'll be back as soon as I find the others, okay? You just stay here." Matt went back to his brother and gave him a tight hug, which TK returned. "Promise?" "Promise." Matt smiled confidently at his little brother. "Okay big brother! I'm gonna hold you to that!" TK smiled back and adjusted his hat. "Come on Tokomon, let's go play in the amusement park!" Matt's little brother jumped up and ran off into the park, Tokomon hot on his heels. "Gabumon, you ready to start peddling?" Matt turned to his partner, who was already by the lakeshore. "Your paddleboat awaits!" Gabumon comically bowed, getting a laugh out of Matt. "Here goes nothing." He and Gabumon got in the boat and started paddling.

"Really? A boat? Of course." Michael sighed as he and Chinchilmon began walking down the lakeshore. "We'll just have to keep an eye on him this way and hope it doesn't get too foggy." Chinchilmon smiled. "That's true, that's true." Michael conceded. The two walked in silence for a little bit, making sure to keep Matt in their sight. "I'm not sure why he didn't just walk around the lake. It's going to take just as long as crossing the lake is." MIchael noted as he pulled back behind a group of trees to hide himself from Matt's sight. "It's just a thing that boys his age do." Chinchilmon sighed. "I mean, I'd agree, but we both know that I didn't exactly have the most normal childhood, so." MIchael shrugged. "True, but I wouldn't worry about it too much. He'll get tired and come to the shore eventually." Chinchilmon jumped onto Michael's head and started playing with his hair. "Hey! Cut that out!" Chinchilmon giggled and pulled his hair in a little bow.

"This place is so beautiful." Matt, still pedaling, gazed out across the lake into the trees. "Indeed! It's certainly one of the most beautiful places in the digital world." Gabumon agreed and splashed his hand in the water. "Even the water is clear!" Gabumon leaned over slightly and started watching the bottom of the lake for fish. "Be careful, Gabumon. We don't have the ability to blow dry your fur if you fall in." Matt chuckled and kept pedaling. "Wait! Matt, stop pedaling!" Gabumon leaned closer towards the water. "What is it bud?" Matt asked his partner. "It looks like a series of ancient ruins!" Gabumon spoke excitedly. "That's cool and all, but it's at the bottom of the lake, and neither of us can hold our breaths for that long." Matt leaned out of the boat in the other direction that Gabumon was to look at the ruins. "They're glowing too?"

Michael and Chinchilmon stopped when Matt stopped pedaling. "I wonder what's the matter…" Chinchilmon glanced in the water from his perch on Michael's head. "Be careful. Don't fall. I make no promises about catching you." Michael joked a bit, but it was lost on Chinchilmon. "Those weird things are glowing! It's like they're sending out beams of light in the sky!" Michael's head shot up as he watched the beams shoot into the sky like Chinchilmon had said. "They're just hanging there…" He stared at them momentarily. "Wait a minute… Orange, two blue, two green, gray, two purple, two pink, two yellow, and red? Those look like the colors of the digidestined Crests." Michael glanced down at his Crest, a light blue color. "The other blue one must be Matt's then, and the purples are Tiffany and Izzy, yellow is Linzi and TK, red is Luke, gray is Joe, one of the pinks is Ally, and one of the greens is Mimi, but who do the other pink and green Crests belong to?" He wondered out loud. "The orange one is fading too! It's almost like something shut it off, but kept the others on…" Chinchilmon pointed towards the quickly fading orange beam of light. "Is it our life? Or our Crests? Because if it's our life, then Tai is dead." Michael let the depressing thought sit in the air while he and Chinchilmon walked with Matt and Gabumon in the peddleboat.

"Tokomon, what do you want to play first?" TK stared upwards at the massive amusement park. "Let's go on the roller coaster and then the Ferris wheel!" The excited little digimon ran towards the electronic rides while TK followed. "Wait for me Tokomon!" The two quickly got on the roller coaster and waited for it to begin, which it did, soon after they sat in it. "This is fun!" Tokomon screamed as the two flew around several loop-de-loops. "Hang on Tokomon!" TK yelled, hanging onto the bars in front of them for dear life. "THIS IS FUN!" Tokomon yelled as they were twisted and sent through a narrow tunnel. "MY HAT!" TK yelled as his hat nearly flew off of his head. "Gotta hold onto it." He took his hat off and added it to the hand that was clinging tightly to the bar in front of them.

"He looks like he's having fun." Linzi smiled as she heard TK and Tokomon's shrieks of laughter. Torpedomon rested in a nearby Spring. "It's so fun for me to just be able to relax and not walk… Her partner remarked. "Touché" Linzi giggled softly and watched TK and Tokomon stumble off of the roller coaster and head straight for a equally nauseating swing ride. "I hope that they can just enjoy this for a while. They don't need to see all of the cruelty that this world holds…" Linzi sighed and looked off into the direction where Michael had gone. "Those lights… Torpedomon! Look at those lights!" Linzi jumped off of the ground and stared intensely at the bright lights from the lake. "The colors of our Crests…" She realized softly. "Do they represent the traits that live inside of us? Or our lives, the bodies of our traits." She turned around and began thinking.

"Izzy was almost certain that Tai was still alive, so that means that the lights have to be the life of the traits inside of us!" Linzi gasped. "But why is Tai's not glowing as bright as it should be? He unlocked the power of his Crest." Linzi put that to the side. "Who else isn't glowing? Mimi, the Crest of Sincerity, Sora, the Crest of Love, that's got to be Joe, the Crest of Reliability." She worked out the non-glowing Crests fairly quickly. "I really hope that they're okay…" "Don't worry Linzi! You know our team will do anything in their power to protect the other digidestined. They might just not know about the lights yet, so nobody could tell them that the Japanese digidestined need help." Torpedomon reasoned with her. "You have a point… It still makes me nervous though." Linzi conceded.

"Come on Tokomon, let's keep going! There's so much to do!" TK's innocent voice rang through the amusement park. "There he is." DemiDevimon giggled evilly and jumped into the air from his perch on a tree. "Now, let's see… How do we stop his Crest from glowing? Take away his hope." 'Use the brother.' Another voice appeared in DemiDevimon's head. "AAAH! Yes Master, I'll use the brother as a tool, I promise." DemiDevimon's master said no more, but made sure that his presence was felt. "Okay, they're really close, aren't they? Maybe I can say that the brother's not coming back… Yes, go with the hate route. The little kids always fall for the hate route. I'll offer to be his friend too, yes, that'll work!" DemiDevimon giggled again as he flew down to TK.

"What's a little guy like you doing all the way out here?" The bat-like digimon startled TK and Tokomon. "Whoa!" Tokomon gasped as he recognized DemiDevimon instantly. "Um… Well, this is where my brother told me to wait for him while he crossed the lake to find our other friends." TK smiled at the rookie digimon. "Oh, did he say when he would be back?" DemiDevimon feigned interest. "Well, whenever he found our friends. I know I can wait for as long as I need to though, because my brother is coming back." The boy smiled and turned around, walking away. 'THINK DEMIDEVIMON! THINK!' The purple bat screamed at himself. "Yeah… About that kid…" DemiDevimon slowly spoke, not sure where he was going. 'LIE ABOUT SEEING HIM!' "I was flying over the lake one day when I saw your brother in his peddleboat." "Oh, you did? That's nice. Is he okay?" TK beamed at the other digimon while Tokomon began to notice the bushes rustling. "He's fine, but… No, I shouldn't tell you." DemiDevimon turned away. "Don't mind me, kid. You wouldn't want to hear this." The evil digimon snickered behind his back. "What? What is it, Mr. Digimon?" TK asked, his curiosity piqued. "Well, when I saw your brother, I asked him where he was going." "Well? What did he say?" TK seemed confused as to where the train of thought was going. "He said that he was getting as far away from his annoying little brother as he could." DemiDevimon almost broke into laughter at the expression on TK's face.

"Don't be silly! Matt wouldn't say that." Despite his words, TK looked doubtful already. "GRRRRR!" Tokomon growled at DemiDevimon. "Whoa! Calm down there!" DemiDevimon tried to fly up, but was dragged down by the weight of Tokomon biting his wing. "YOWZA! LET GO LET GO LET GO LET GO LET GO!" He landed and shook Tokomon off. "TK! Don't listen to this loser! He's DemiDevimon, a digimon whose whole existence is just to lie to others!" "HIYAH!" The bushes rustled again and Torpedomon burst into the clearing. "HORN BLASTER!" The attack struck DemiDevimon at point-blank radius, causing him to go spiraling backwards. "STAY AWAY FROM HIM!" Torpedomon growled at the digimon as he tried to get to TK. "Who are you?!" DemiDevimon jumped into the air and glared at Torpedomon. "Your. Worst. Nightmare. HORN BLASTER!" She let off another attack that missed DemiDevimon just barely as he flew away. "I'LL BE BACK!" He yelled over his shoulder.

"Are you okay, TK?" Linzi walked out of the bushes. "Wait… You're the lady that saved me and Tokomon from one of Etemon's attacks!" TK realized as Linzi sat down next to him. "Yep! That's me. Now, are you okay?" She began checking TK over for any injuries. "Yeah, I'm fine, just tired and sad and confused now…" The small boy sighed and sniffled. "I heard what DemiDevimon said to you." Linzi wrapped the boy in a hug. "Is it true?" TK looked up at her, his eyes tearing up. "TK, I don't know. What I do know is that your brother loves you, and that he would never willingly leave you, okay?" Linzi tried to reassure the little boy. "Don't ever lose hope, okay? He'll come back one day, I promise." Linzi tightened her hug. "It's getting late for a little guy like you." She spoke softly as TK's eyes began to droop. "Had fun playing today." TK murmured as Tokomon cuddled up to him. 'He's so innocent and pure… Stupid DemiDevimon for trying to corrupt that innocence.' Linzi began to sing softly as TK fell asleep.

"This is the garden that I know… Ten thousand summers wait me here… You lead and I will follow, your heart is mine tomorrow… Into your heart I fade away…" Linzi smiled softly at the sleeping boy, the soft melody flowing around the area as other in-training digimon came to hear her sing. "And while he laughs, your pride is turning into snow, and melting on the face of this light of hope… Shine on, light of hope… Light of hope…" The plaintive song wrapped itself around the ears of the baby digimon slowly falling asleep in the area, while Torpedomon yawned herself. "And while he laughs, your pride is turning into snow… And dancing on the graves of what you thought you used to know… And in this garden, I will burn my callous robes, and forever, love little TK… Light of Hope…" The song ended quietly and Linzi slowly removed herself from TK's grasp as she settled down to try to set up a watch. "Torpedomon, I'll take this first watch and then you take second, okay?" She whispered quietly to her digimon friend. "Sounds fine to me…" Torpedomon lied down to sleep on a patch of grass. "Sleep well, everyone." Linzi noticed the large amount of in-training digimon surrounding herself, TK, Tokomon, and Torpedomon, and smiled gently. 'It's nice being able to help for once…' She thought as she settled down for her watch.

Michael watched from a tree as Matt and Gabumon got out of the peddleboat for the night on the other side of the shore from the amusement park. "Seems like they're settling down for the night. I wonder if they're setting up a watch." Chinchilmon whispered from Michael's shoulder. "Looks like they are. I'd imagine that they have enough common sense to do so." Michael whispered back in reply. "I'll take first watch if you want to get some sleep over here." Michael told his partner. "Okay, but don't forget to wake me up in case of an emergency." Chinchilmon yawned widely and curled up in a ball on Michael's shoulder. "Goodnight buddy, goodnight Matt and Gabumon." Michael spoke softly, watching the stars sparkle in the deep darkness of the night sky.

The Next Morning

"Michael, time to wake up. Matt and Gabumon are moving." Chinchilmon woke his partner up. "I'm awake." Michael quickly woke and the two climbed down the tree that they had spent the night in. "Which way are they going?" He asked Chinchilmon. "Straight from the lake. There seems to be a building of some kind up ahead, and he's heading there to ask for directions or something." Chinchilmon guessed on the reasoning. "This sounds like a trap…" Michael sighed. "What is with these guys and falling for traps? We'd better follow, and soon." Michael began walking with Chinchilmon hot on his tail. "I really hope it's not as obvious as the other traps." Chinchilmon sighed.

"Gabumon, you were right. There was a building here, and there's something in there." Matt was instantly on guard. "Wait… Do I smell… FOOD!" Gabumon perked up almost instantly, and Matt relaxed slightly, but was still ready to run at any second. "Maybe we can just peek inside, and if nobody's there, we can grab some food and go." Matt reluctantly agreed to go inside the building. "Wait… IT IS! THIS IS DIGITAMMAMON'S DINER!" Gabumon excitedly starting running in circles. "Digitammamon?" Matt asked. "Who is that?" "Only one of the best Digicooks in the entire digital world!" Gabumon smiled and ran up to the door and opened it. "Gabumon, wait!" Matt yelled as he followed his partner, trying to ignore the sinking feeling in his gut.

"Welp. There they go again. Do you think we'll have to go in after them?" Michael asked Chinchilmon. "Maybe not now, but eventually." The digimon nodded. "Do you want to see if there's a way to get a view on the inside?" Michael started looking around. "Definitely. I don't see a whole lot of windows, but if we need to, we can get on the roof and listen through the vent." Chinchilmon slowly scampered around Michael, trying to not make any noise. "Be careful, buddy. We don't know what's in there, or what's around here." Michael picked up his partner and put him on his shoulder. "Hang in there. We'll find a way to get back to Matt." Chinchilmon tried to reassure his friend. "I know. He makes me nervous with his ridiculous running off on his brother. I don't know what else he'll do now, and as a person who lived on the streets and by himself for the better part of three years, unpredictability is the thing that I hate the most." Michael turned around suddenly, hearing the bushes rustle. "Hey there." Luke stood behind him, Ravenmon perched on his shoulder.

"Luke? What are you doing here? I thought you were following Joe." Michael relaxed a little bit and gave Luke a quick hug. "Yep. I am. Joe is in Digitammamon's diner, stuck until he can pay off his bill." Luke sighed. "Wait… He has to work off his bill that he got at the diner? How long have you guys been here?" Michael asked. "It took us about two weeks to get here, and we've been stuck here ever since." Luke sighed and scratched the back of his head. "How much did he eat at the diner?" Michael's eyes widened in shock. "Well, it's not that he hasn't paid off his food. He's paid that off, but it's the dishes and other expenses that Digitammamon keeps billing him because it looks like he's caused them." Luke frowned and glared at the diner. "So basically he's scamming Joe for free work?" "Yep. Can I assume that Matt just went in as well?" Luke asked about the boy. "Yep. Can I assume that I'm going to be stuck here for a while now?" Michael sighed and facepalmed. "Unfortunately, yes. It's not too bad though. It's gorgeous, easy baths, and food is plentiful in the forests." Ravenmon cawed and flew up into the trees, where he grabbed a purple fruit and offered it to Michael, who took it and fed it to Chinchilmon.

"How have you been holding up?" Luke led Michael and Chinchilmon to his makeshift campsite. "Pretty well, actually. I've been too tired to actually think about much, so that's kinda what's keeping it away right now. It's been hard though, without Ally there keeping me in check." Michael smiled, putting on a brave face. "Well that's good to hear, I guess." Luke shrugged, before sitting down on a log. "What happened after I left to the rest of the group?" He asked, wondering where Linzi, Tiffany, and Jacob were. "Well, Mimi and Izzy had a major row about three weeks after you left, and they ended up splitting. Tiffany went with Mimi so she'd be safe, and Jacob went with Izzy, which will probably end up being the death of him, but that's his choice." Michael explained quickly. "And Linzi?" Luke prodded. "She and TK are staying at the other end of the lake. Matt decided to go search across the lake, and he said that he'd be back as soon as possible, but judging by this, it's not going to happen." Michael frowned and remembered the promise that Matt made to TK. "Yeah, that's not good at all then." He pointed in the direction of Digitammamon's diner. "You can say that again." Luke agreed.

"They really are clumsy when it comes to dishes." Michael sighed as Joe dropped another plate and watched it shatter. "That's another five hours of work to pay for that plate." Luke frowned and started watching Matt. "At least Matt has an ounce of sense and isn't dropping everything." "Well, did you hear that he was also splitting the bill with Joe? So he's got half of everything that Joe is doing right now." Michael reminded Luke. "True, but still. Matt is doing his part; Joe just needs to step it up a little bit more." Luke agreed. "Oh, I get it now… That's why the lights are glowing…" Michael came to a sudden realization as Chinchilmon and Ravenmon walked out of the woods with food. "Lights?" Luke asked him. "Yeah. The lights in the lake. They represent the traits of our Crests inside of ourselves." Michael pointed them out over the lake. "See how one of the green ones, one of the red ones, and the gray one are not lit up? And TK and Tai's are faded, so they're not at their full power." Michael began talking as quick as he could. "It's all beginning to make sense. Joe isn't feeling like Matt can rely on him at all, leading to this. Mimi is most likely somehow being fake, or not true to herself in some way. Sora… Something must have happened to her to make her reject love." Michael started musing. "Why is TK's faded though? When I saw him, he was so confident that he'd see his brother soon…" Michael sighed and rubbed the temples of his head. "All this talking is giving me a headache." Chinchilmon shook his head, trying to understand some of what Michael said.

"Keep an eye out for any suspicious activity. Right before you came here, I was noticing that some of the accidents were caused by an outside force that I can't exactly identify right now." Luke began to scan the bushes. "If I had Izzy's computer, I'd be able to search a general picture of the digimon, but all I've got is my crude drawings that Ravenmon tries to discern." He clarified, as Michael was about to ask what he meant by that. "Well, maybe I can draw it, if need be." Michael smiled and tried to put Luke at ease. "Then Ravenmon could possibly be able to discern it." Luke smiled. "Or Chinchilmon. Or maybe even both!" Michael excitedly smiled, but his smile was cut short by a loud rustle in the bushes, followed by a blur that sped up to the diner and knocked over a pile of drying dishes outside."Oh no!" Michael gasped as the digimon ran back into the bushes. "Was that the same digimon?" Michael asked, not fast enough for it. "Yep. Purple and bat-like. That's our guy." Luke nodded in the affirmative. "We should go after it." Michael grinned. "I agree, most definitely." Luke smiled before he, due to his longer legs, took up a chase against the digimon, Ravenmon hot on his tail. "Wait for me!" Michael yelled as he followed the digimon through the jungle.

"They'll be stuck there forever! That latest round of broken dishes should keep them there far beyond any time that my Master will need to gain enough power to destroy any of those pesky digidestined." DemiDevimon rested on a tree as he tried to contact his master. "Wait, no. It's daytime. Lord Myotismon will be asleep." The evil digimon giggled as he noticed the bushes moving quickly. "Someone's here. GOTTA BLAAAAAAAST!" The digimon cackled as he flew into the sky, away from Luke and Michael, who had been chasing him. "What is that digimon?" Michael wondered as Luke grabbed one of DemiDevimon's feathers from the ground, where it had dropped. "I don't know, but we need to get back now." Luke started walking back the diner, having picked up the feather. "Here we go, I guess." Michael sighed and shrugged.


	21. The Bewitchment!

Disclaimer! I do not own any of this with the exception of the American digidestined and their partners!

Everything else belongs to Saban

Hope you enjoy!

A/N: This was one of my favorite chapters to write in the story so far, so I hope you guys enjoy!

Try Chapter 21

THREE WEEKS AFTER MATT AND MICHAEL FIND DIGITAMMAMON'S DINER

Michael quietly shook Luke awake while it was still dark. "Remember," He whispered. "We can't run the risk of being seen by Digitammamon or that bat digimon." "Yep. I'm awake." Luke moved silently and picked up Ravenmon, who was still fast asleep. "Normal place?" He asked Michael. "Yep. It's the best view of the diner." Michael nodded and woke up Chinchilmon. "Be quiet now. Matt and Joe sleep by the window." The small group moved quickly to a small clearing near the back of the diner. "Here we are. Everything still in place?" Ravenmon woke up sleepily. "Yep." Michael began cleaning up the clearing, left messy by the windy nights and dew off of the lake.

The clearing itself was simple enough, but the viewing areas to watch the diner were masterfully hidden, just in case of any angry digimon. Luke slipped into the bushes to watch the diner. He looked out of the bush towards the diner and was surprised to see the lights on. "Ravenmon, come here." He beckoned his partner. "Digitammamon has them up early today." He whispered. "Yeah… The sun hasn't even started rising yet. I hope this isn't a new trend." Ravenmon let the branches of the bush fall behind him as he stepped into the hollowed out area of the bush. Luke glanced around inside the bush to make sure that it was still stable. It was one of Michael's experiments, taking after Tiffany. He had used his knife to cut off all of the branches on the back of the bush to create a pseudo-hunting blind, where Luke and Michael could still see out the front of the bush without being assaulted by the bush itself.

"Be careful, Chinchilmon. Everything was clear when we got here, but I couldn't see in the trees. You'll have to check them out." Michael ducked underneath a tree branch and began shifting through the lower branches. "The far right viewing tree looks clear." The chinchilla-like digimon began rustling through the trees. "The middle trees are clear." Chinchilmon called quietly and Michael turned to the left. "There's something over there. Hiding places now." He ducked behind a tree and crawled into the hiding place at the base of the tree that was covered by a thin pile of leaves as Chinchilmon curled into a ball at the far right viewing tree. 'Now, let's hope that Luke and Ravenmon stay in the bush.' Michael thought to himself, keeping an eye on the left side of the clearing.

Chinchilmon watched the trees rustle as a small figure stepped into the clearing. "Hehehe… Those digidestined brats will be stuck here forever at this rate!" DemiDevimon cackled evilly, not knowing that the clearing was occupied. Chinchilmon watched the evil digimon snigger and fly up into a tree, staring intently at the sky. 'I wonder what he's looking at…' Chinchilmon crept closer to DemiDevimon and overheard some part of the conversation he was seemingly having with himself. "Yes, Master, I will do my best to keep those two brats here. Digitammamon knows what he has to do." DemiDevimon put on a grin. "In fact, I know exactly what I'm going to do to get them to distrust each other… Neaaaaahahahahahahahaha!" The digimon erupted into evil giggles, but snapped back into focus. "Sorry master, yes, I should know better…" DemiDevimon began to fly away, causing Chinchilmon to scamper down the tree to find Michael.

"Michael, he's leaving. It's the bat digimon. We've got to follow him." The small digimon whispered to Michael. "Let's get Luke too." Michael nodded and Chinchilmon dashed off to the bush where Luke and Ravenmon were watching the diner. Chinchilmon quickly relayed the information, and Luke slowly extracted himself from the bush with Ravenmon close behind. He glanced at Michael and nodded. "Stay beneath the trees but keep an eye on that digimon at all times." He directed Ravenmon, who nodded. "Chinchilmon, stay with me. We don't know how strong it is." The two humans and their digimon partners headed off into the woods in pursuit of DemiDevimon.

"Be quiet and quick." Michael told the other three as they followed DemiDevimon's trajectory. Michael pulled out DemiDevimon's feather from his bag, and, looking at it closely, sighed. "I think we've found our bad guy." He sped up, making the others work to keep up. "He lived on the streets and was used to running for a time… This is… Hard work… For me…" Luke panted, but was determined to keep up. "He's pulling ahead." Chinchilmon noticed that DemiDevimon was flying between the trees ahead of them, but kept losing sight of the tricky digimon. "If we lose him, we lose him, and that's that. We're only doing what we can." Ravenmon reminded Chinchilmon. "That's exactly right. However, I think we found something completely different than what we thought we were looking for." Michael had stopped just up ahead and was pointing to a massive cave entrance.

"What in the world is that?" Chinchilmon's eyes widened. "It looks like a giant cave." Luke commented casually, dodging the smack from Ravenmon's wing. "Hey there, watch where you're flying that thing!" He laughed. "This could give us a major break as to where Tai is, or a better look into the history of this world." Michael walked closer to the entrance. "But what about that digimon?" Chinchilmon asked. "It can wait. There's something down there…" Michael began walking into the cave. "Uh… Wait for me!" Chinchilmon ran after his partner. "Something's definitely fishy about this… I only hope we aren't walking into a trap." Luke sighed and followed his friend, Ravenmon flying above his head.

"That's strange… It's not really that dark in here." Michael felt the walls, looking for the source of the light. "This cave is giving me the heebie-jeebies." Chinchilmon declared. "There's something looking for something in here…" Michael stopped in his tracks. "What is it?" Luke asked him, concern and worry palpable in his voice. "Michael doesn't normally act like this…" Ravenmon whispered to Chinchilmon. "What are you thinking is happening?" Michael's partner whispered to the bird digimon. "This is a trap… Or something like that." Ravenmon theorized and Chinchilmon nodded. "The sooner that we're out of here, the better."

"Michael, what are you looking for?" Luke asked the boy. "There's something calling for someone… It's weird, but I can hear it in my mind." Michael looked up. "Can you not hear it?" He asked Luke. "No… You're the only one of us four that can hear it." Luke responded, now truly worried for Michael. "It's calling out for help, and I guess it thinks that I can help it." Michael smiled softly and a chill ran up Chinchilmon's spine. 'Oh no… The last time this happened, Datamon struck and Sora was kidnapped. I've got to be on the lookout.' "Okay Michael, we'll keep going, but you've got to promise me that you'll be careful and let me check everything out first." Chinchilmon piped up and ran up onto his shoulder. "It'll be fine buddy. It's probably just a little in-training digimon that's hurt and lost." Michael laughed a little bit, and Ravenmon heard the voice as well.

'That's right… Come this way, human… I need help… I'm so lost, and lonely, and hurt…' Ravenmon stiffened, and turned around. "That voice… It's disturbed!" Right as he spoke, the voice disappeared and Michael turned around and glared at Ravenmon. "You scared it!" He snapped and turned around again, only to see a new tunnel branching off from the main tunnel. "It was coming from there." He pointed at the tunnel. "Now, wait a second, Michael. We don't even know what this voice is. For all we know, this could be a trap set up by our new enemy here on Server." Luke was patient with Michael and kept his voice level. The younger boy turned around and glared at Luke. "Can you not hear it? This poor thing is terrified and frightened to death, and all it wants is a hug." Chinchilmon frowned and glanced at Michael, and then back at Luke. 'Oh dear… This can't end well…' The tiny digimon sniffled and nuzzled his partner, who picked him up. "No worries buddy, okay? If it's not what I think it is, we'll head right back out of this place." Michael smiled gently at his partner, a completely 180 from his previous attitude. Luke and Ravenmon exchanged glances and shrugged.

"Here! The voice says it's right behind the door." Michael pointed to the intimidating door. "Are you sure that this is a good idea?" Luke asked, again confused as to why he had allowed himself to be talked into this. "It's a hurt digimon. No creature should be alone and hurting, especially in a world such as this, where if you're hurt, you're practically dead." Michael snapped again, and Luke realized with a gasp why Michael was being so pushy about this. He picked Ravenmon up and began whispering intently into his ear. Michael noticed the two talking, and the expression of doubt on Chinchilmon's face, and frowned. "Um…" Chinchilmon noticed the frown and quickly put on a smile to ease Michael's mind. "No worries! Let's go help that digimon." Chinchilmon smiled, but couldn't shake the sinking feeling of dread in his stomach. "Here goes nothing." Michael began opening the door right as Luke and Ravenmon called his name. "MICHAEL, WAIT!" The door opened and a blur jumped out.

"FREE AT LAST!" The digimon, most definitely not an in-training, crowed. "I must thank you quite a bit! I have been stuck in that blasted door for so long!" The digimon brushed itself off. "Um… Who are you?" Michael asked, now thoroughly confused. "Funny you should ask! I am Kyukimon, and I am the Digimon of the Door!" Kyukimon cheerfully exclaimed and began to stretch. The digimon was primarily pink, and stood on two legs, slouched over. There were intricate red designs all over its body, and its arms were more like scythes than actual arms. Its regal blue mane and tail were very long and both lay on the ground, while its yellow whiskers curled up at the end. The blue four point star on Kyukimon's forehead forced Michael to look at the digimon, and into her eyes. "Woah…" He murmured quietly. "Yeah. This is what happens when you're forced to be inside of a door for thousands of years." Kyukimon smiled faintly. "What's up with the door?" Chinchilmon asked, now very nervous.

"The door is my prison. They trapped me there thousands of years ago as punishment for supporting the other side, and cursed the door to reside in a location where only the Digital Mother could allow others to pass. " Kyukimon smiled mournfully at the door. "Is? You're out of the door now." Luke pointed out. "For now, I am. This door is cursed. I am forever bound to it unless…" The digimon looked away from the four. "Unless what?" Michael asked, eager to know. "You're an eager one." The human-like Kyukimon giggled softly. "Unless someone else takes my place in the door." Kyukimon glanced hopefully at the quartet, none of whom were moving. "So you can't leave this door?" Ravenmon asked. "Yes, that's correct. I was hoping that the Digital Mother had finally allowed someone to set me free…" Kyukimon gazed into Michael's eyes, her own flashing purple quickly before changing back to blue. "Well, I hate to break it to you, but we can't really do that for you. You see, we're supposed to be helping a group of children save the world, and we can't really do that if we're trapped inside of a door." Luke explained rapidly and turned around to leave. "Wait! You're leaving so soon?" Kyukimon gasped and ran towards the group as Michael was turning around. "We have to. We've spent too much time in this cave already." Ravenmon explained, as Chinchilmon began pushing Michael away as well as the tiny digimon could.

"Oh… Well… I guess I'll just have to make you stay then!" Kyukimon jumped onto the wall of the cave and back down in front of Michael. "BLADE TWISTER! GRAH!" The enraged digimon began to spin directly in front of the boy, who stared in shock at the digimon in front of him. "MICHAEL MOVE!" Chinchilmon yelled as time seemed to slow down for the group. Kyukimon began to run at Michael, screaming angrily at him, while Ravenmon and Luke were shouting at him to move. "What?" Michael asked, questioningly. He didn't recognize the danger in front of him until it was too late. "GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Kyukimon slammed into Michael at full speed and slashed her scythe-like arms against his chest in the shape of an x. "NOW YOU HAVE TO STAY WITH ME!" She growled, slowly turning insane as the attack appeared on Michael's chest.

Time sped up, and Michael fell backwards, his eyes widened and his mouth gaping open as he stared at his tattered and soaked with blood shirt. "MICHAEL!" Chinchilmon screamed as Kyukimon turned towards the other three. "WHO'S NEXT?" The digimon growled and Chinchilmon glared at the digimon. "CHINCHILMON DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO TRILEPTIMON!" The champion level digimon howled angrily as his partner lay on the floor, slowly dying from the powerful attack. "I remember this one now." Ravenmon spoke quickly. "She is Kyukimon, the Bewitching Digimon from days of Old! She's an ultimate level digimon who is said to have attempted to convince the Digital Mother to make her a Digital Sovereign, hence why only the Digital Mother is allowed to see her and the door! Her Blade Twister attack is so powerful that the recipient is said not to feel the attack until it's over!" Ravenmon squawked and flew towards Kyukimon as well. "RAVENMON DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO TOUCAMON!" The two champion digimon glared at Kyukimon while Luke tried to edge around the digimon and get to Michael.

"GRRRR! ASTIRE SLASH!" Trileptimon fired off an attack at Kyukimon, who took the hit without breaking a sweat. "FIERY WING!" Toucamon struck Kyukimon as well, who simply smiled and took the hit. "Is that all you've got?" She asked, tauntingly. "WHY DID YOU ATTACK HIM?" Trileptimon growled, the anger in his voice making Kyukimon step back. "Woah there, big doggy. He's the one who was most likely to set me free, so now he's going to be the one in the door." Kyukimon explained calmly despite the sudden fear in her eyes. "That's what you think. The only one in that door will be you!" Toucamon declared, glaring at the insane digimon. "Oh dear me! I'm ever so frightened!" The digimon declared, trying to make it seem as though she wasn't worried. "NOW!" Luke yelled as he reached Michael, and Trileptimon and Toucamon sprung into action.

"ASTIRE SLASH!" "FIERY WING!" The two attacks collided and struck Kyukimon, blinding her momentarily and allowing Luke to slowly begin moving Michael out of the field of battle. "Michael, can you hear me? It's me, Luke. I'm right here, and you're going to be okay. I have my first aid kit here, you see?" Luke began talking to him quietly, trying to keep Michael awake. "Oh… God… What have I done…" Michael panted, breaths irregular as Luke tore off the remains of his shirt. "Oh dear God… This is worse than I expected." He pulled out his medical kit from his bag and began applying what first aid he could. "Hang in there Michael, I'm doing my best…" Luke worriedly spoke and pulled out his bandages. "You guys have got to take care of that beast so we can get some real treatment for Michael!" He yelled to Trileptimon and Toucamon. "We're doing our best!" Toucamon called back, dodging an attack from Kyukimon.

"HAH! There's no way that you'll be able to defeat me. There are only two of you, and I am a digimon from the creation of the Digital World!" Kyukimon growled and glared at the two champion level digimon. "We can always try! ASTIRE SLASH!" Trileptimon tried to catch Kyukimon off-guard, but failed, as she dodged the attack, allowing it to hit the wall. "Be careful! You might send the ceiling of the cave down on us!" Luke reminded the two digimon. "FIERY WING!" Toucamon successfully hit Kyukimon, who accepted the hit in return for firing off an attack of her own. "GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! SANRENSEI!" The beast-like digimon's four-point star on her forehead began to shine and three large blue stars appeared in the air and fired the stars at Trileptimon and Toucamon. "AGH!" Two of the stars hit Toucamon and the bird digimon fell to the ground, shocked by the power behind the attack. The third star struck Trileptimon at full speed, who shakily stayed standing, but looked intimidated as Kyukimon slowly walked up to him.

"So, big doggy… You want to help your master?" Kyukimon taunted. "I will always protect my friend." Trileptimon growled angrily as he defiantly stared into Kyukimon's eyes. "Well, aren't you a brave one! Why don't you try to help him now?" Kyukimon moved to the right slightly to give Trileptimon a better view of Michael and Luke. "Bewitchment…" She muttered under her breath, giving Trileptimon's eyes a glazed look. "Michael…" In Trileptimon's mind, Luke bent over Michael, shutting his eyes slowly. "MICHAEL!" The digimon cried plaintively. "He's gone." Kyukimon told Trileptimon, grinning cruelly. "No…" Trileptimon fell to the ground and closed his eyes, remembering their adventures so far.

In Trileptimon's mind, he watched from the sky as he saw himself as Frenmon jumping out of the bushes in an attempt to save Michael from Digmon. Trileptimon saw his first digivolution with Michael into Chinchilmon, and watched as he and Michael went with Ally and Tiffany to find the rest of the digidestined. He remembered the first argument with Jacob, and began whimpering softly as he heard Michael's emotional voice again, pouring his soul into the song that he was playing. Trileptimon saw Michael crying on the rock after the song, and he saw Michael telling Chinchilmon about his past. "Michael…" He croaked out, watching Luke stand up and turn towards Kyukimon, tears in his eyes. "No…"

Trileptimon saw Michael's life flash before his eyes as he stood in the face of near-certain death before Ranetsumon saved him. He saw Michael and himself being blasted back by Dark Antylamon, and the journey they undertook to return to the mountain and save Tiffany and Azuremon. He saw the argument between Michael and Jacob on whether they went to Server or not, the concern that Michael always held for Ally, the love and hope in his eyes when he learned that Ally was finally beginning to learn how to survive on her own, the desperate sadness that resonated through his entire soul when Ally left to follow Sora, and the hard lifestyle that he had been forced to live again for the past few months. "Michael… My friend…" Trileptimon cried out again, seeing Michael's smiling face in his mind, and thinking that it was gone forever.

Outside of Trileptimon's mind, Luke was still trying to administer first aid to Michael. However, the boy suddenly sat up. "Michael! Are you okay?" Luke asked. "Antylamon… Saved me." The boy muttered, and stared at his chest, which, though still heavily wounded, was no longer life-threatening. 'He was saved through I, the Digital Mother, sending the ghost of Antylamon to heal him. He shall not die today.' Luke heard the message loud and clear, and helped Michael sit up. "Be careful. You're still very hurt." Michael ignored him and began to try to stand up. "Trileptimon… He's in trouble. He needs my help." Luke turned to look and saw Kyukimon standing over Trileptimon, her scythe arms aimed at his neck, prepared to give the killing blow at any second. "TRILEPTIMON!" Michael yelled, and the digimon looked up briefly.

Trileptimon was forcibly snapped out of Kyukimon's trance when he heard his name being called. "MICHAEL?!" He looked up and saw his friend and partner standing, looking directly at him. "NO!" Kyukimon screamed as they locked eyes. "MY FRIEND! DO IT FOR ME!" Michael yelled, making sure that Trileptimon felt the emotion in his voice. "MY FRIEND IS ALIVE! MICHAEL!" Trileptimon began glowing. "TRILEPTIMON!" Michael yelled as best he could as his Crest and Digivice began to glow. "Trileptimon is digivolving into his Ultimate form!" Luke realized in shock as he watched the exchange take place.

"TRILEPTIMON!" Trileptimon's cream tails turned to a scarlet color and merged back together into only four tails. His brown fur also lightened up and became a dirty red color, creating a dazzling light with the six orbs surrounding his midsection. The orbs also changed, pressing themselves into Trileptimon's body and becoming royal blue circle markings. "DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Trileptimon's eyes changed from their sharp blue to match the royal blue markings on his midsection. He also gained a saddle on his back that held two scarlet spheres, matching the color of his tails. "GRAH!" The ground around Trileptimon shifted and shined with a royal blue light, contrasting beautifully with his fur and tails. "ENIGMON!" Enigmon growled deeply and stared directly at Kyukimon, who now was terrified, and rightfully so. Enigmon was angry. "You messed up." Luke commented shortly as he watched the digivolution before turning to Michael. "Now sit, we're getting you fixed up."

"GRAH!" Enigmon easily dodged Kyukimon's powerful Sanrensei attack. "What?!" The Bewitching digimon gasped as the markings on Enigmon and the orbs on his back began to glow their respective colors. "HIYAH! BLAST ENERGO!" The orbs and markings created balls of energy that merged together into a multicolor ball of energy that struck Kyukimon at full speed, sending her flying backwards into the cave wall, where she was quickly deleted. "GRAAH!" Enigmon declared victoriously before dedigivolving into Frenmon. "Whew! I'm tired now!" The in-training digimon hopped over to the now dedigivolved Ravenmon, who brought him to Michael. "Thank you… Frenmon… You saved my life." He smiled softly. "Well… You're my friend! It's what friends do, right?" Frenmon giggled softly and Michael smiled. "That's right buddy, that's right."

"Be careful, this might sting." Luke warned Michael before he applied the antiseptic. "YEP! That stings a lot." Michael tensed up, and forced himself to relax. "There. We're good. That wasn't too bad. Now, we've just got to get the bandages on." Luke pulled out the gauze wrap that he would use as a first layer. "We'll have to change this every night for a while until we know it won't start bleeding again, so get used to this." He told Michael. "Alright, it's not like I have much else to do." Michael laughed softly, and muttered something quietly. "What was that?" Luke asked him. "It hurts to laugh." He smiled ruefully. "Well that sucks. It's good that you're laughing though, so keep it up." Frenmon smiled at his partner, who picked the in-training digimon up to cuddle with him.

"Let's head back to the diner now, shall we?" The quartet began heading back the way they came, watching Kyukimon's door disappear behind them. 'Thank you… For finally ridding the world of that demonic digimon.' The Digital Mother put a message in their heads. "Digital Mother, we only do as you tell us to." Michael bowed slightly, despite not being able to see the Digital Mother. "That's right. We do the best we can. It is you that help us." Ravenmon nodded and flapped his wings as they walked out of the cave and into the sunlight.

"How many days were we down there?" Michael asked Luke. "Um… Unless time passes differently there, it's only been one day." He told Michael. "Let's hope that nothing's changed so far…" Michael, now worried about the diner, hurried up and began to make his way through the forest. "He never changes…" Frenmon smiled softly. "But I wouldn't have it any other way." The digimon began to follow his partner and best friend through the forest.

* * *

FUN FACT! In the original version of this chapter, Michael was going to die and Trileptimon was going to digivolve into an evil digimon and bring him back to life before destroying Kyukimon. I'm much happier with the current version, however, as it's always very difficult to kill off a character for me.


	22. Digimon Divas!

Disclaimer! I own only my OCs and potentially a few of the OC digimon. Everything else is owned by Saban Brands.

Hope you all enjoy!

A/N: Next Sunday, there will not be a chapter as this week is proving to be too busy to write.

Try Chapter 22

Shortly after the events of Chapter 21

Sora stood up quickly from her resting place on a log. "You ready to go?" She asked Ally, who also stood up. "As ready as I'll ever be. Come on you two digimon." She gestured to Kangamon and Biyomon, who also got up. "Any word on Mimi?" Kangamon asked. "Nothing more than what we heard yesterday." Sora told her, and looked to the east, where she could see the massive castle. "Mimi and Palmon should still be in that castle with the Otamamon and the Geckomon, probably still just leading them along." Ally frowned. "It's not like she has much else to do, otherwise she'd be out in the forest. I'd rather her be here where we can keep an eye on her." Sora, already walking away, spoke quickly and moved fast. "Come on. We've got to keep up with her." Ally prodded Biyomon and Kangamon along. "If we head along this path, we should be able to make it to the castle in a few days time." Sora pointed to the right, where a small dirt path led into the forest. "Or, there's this path, which takes us initially away from the castle, and circles around to the back part of it, but it also takes a few more days than the right path." She laid out their options. "Speed is our number one priority right now. We've got to get to Mimi so we can help her open her eyes to her Crest's power." Biyomon cast her vote, and Kangamon agreed. "Normally, my friend is the cautious one, but I don't know if it's a good idea to go knocking on the front door." Ally disagreed, but was overruled by Sora. "Alright. Three versus one, we're going to the right." The bearer of the Crest of Love began walking again along the right path, moving through the jungle as fast as it would let her.

"Be careful!" Ally called out to Sora as the girl almost fell into a pit. "That was close!" Sora breathed a sigh of relief as she stepped around the pit. "You've got to be a little more careful, Sora. How about I take the lead for a while?" Ally offered to the tired girl. "Alright, that's fine by me, but you've got to stay with me." Sora let Ally see some of her nerves. "No worries. I'm not going to be leaving anytime soon." Ally smiled confidently and thanked Michael for teaching her how to hide her true thoughts. 'Are we going to be okay? I'm not sure I can protect myself, much less her as well…' The girl doubted herself, but continued walking. Kangamon nuzzled up against her leg. "No worries, okay? We're going to be fine." Kangamon reassured her friend. "Plus, I'll protect you if there's anything bad ahead, okay?" Ally giggled softly. "There's no need to worry." She told Sora, smiling at both her and Kangamon. "That's right! We're going to be perfectly safe, as long as we just keep out of the way." Biyomon flew overhead and scouted in front of the other three.

When Biyomon returned, she brought back news of buildings. "There's some sort of city up ahead! It almost looks like it was made just for fun or something." The flying digimon tried to describe a roller coaster. "It was like a big metal track that had a bunch of cars on it that didn't move." "It sounds to me like you're trying to describe a roller coaster! It must be an amusement park!" Sora laughed and turned to Ally. "I haven't been to an amusement park since I was very young." The girl was very excited. "Well, let's get going then! It'll be a good place to unwind." Ally smiled and the group started walking in the direction of the amusement park. "I hope there's some cotton candy!" Sora exclaimed, showing more emotion than she had in the past several weeks. "What's cotton candy?" Kangamon looked quizzically at Ally. "It's a type of sweet that's very fluffy and fun to play with." Ally explained. "I want some popcorn too! And maybe a hot dog!" The older girl laughed. "Popcorn? Hot dogs?" Biyomon stared at Sora and Ally, who were excitedly talking about the park. "Humans have strange things…" Sora's partner turned to Kangamon and laughed. "They have all sorts of strange names for weird things." Kangamon laughed as well.

"Look! There's the park!" A short time later, the quartet of girls made it to the amusement park, but were stopped in their tracks. "Wait, who is that?" Ally saw a flash of pale pink through the trees in the amusement park. "That color? It's got to be an in-training digimon." Sora crept closer to the bushes outside of the park in order to get a better look. "Wait… That's Tokomon." Sora realized with a start. "Tokomon? Your little guy's digimon partner?" Ally asked. "Yep. That's TK's partner, Tokomon." Biyomon nodded. "We're in luck then. That's one less person to have to try to find." Kangamon smiled. "I can't go with them again." Sora reminded. "Yes, but now we at least know where they are so if they need help, we can help them." Ally frowned at Sora's determination to not become a part of the group again. "Is TK near Tokomon?" Biyomon asked Sora. "Yep. I see him a few meters away from Tokomon. He doesn't look particularly happy though." The younger girl noted, and started looking around the two. "What's up?" Ally asked. "They're fighting, and it's not like TK to fight." Sora put her hand to her forehead as a realization struck her. "DemiDevimon is corrupting TK." Ally felt the color drain out of her face when Sora spoke those words. "We've got to help him." Biyomon frowned. "Wait. There's someone else coming." Kangamon stopped the flying digimon, pointing to the other side of TK.

"It's that nasty DemiDevimon!" Ally whispered intensely as she dropped to the ground to avoid being seen. "I can kinda hear some of the conversation. We've got to be quiet though." Sora whispered back. "Got it." Biyomon landed as well. "DemiDevimon is saying something about friends… And how Tokomon isn't TK's real friend, but he is…" Sora frowned and leaned in. "What in the world? I know TK's young, but he's not dumb." Ally muttered to Kangamon. "TK's absorbing all of it though. My best guess would be that TK and Tokomon were already arguing, and DemiDevimon is just trying to make the best of it…" Sora spoke to the other three. "That's a good deduction. There's no other way it would work otherwise." Biyomon agreed. "What can we do?" Kangamon asked. "Wait and see what extent this fight goes to…" Ally murmured, suddenly wishing for Michael's quick thinking in tricky situations.

Linzi was walking around the outskirts of the amusement park with Torpedomon looking for some fruit for the day. "Torpedomon, have we tried the yellow fruit yet?" Linzi asked her partner. "I think we've tried all of the fruit here, but the yellow ones are always great!" Torpedomon giggled and tried to grab a few of the pieces. "I think you missed…" Linzi tried to hold in her laughter as Torpedomon landed on the ground, a stick speared on her horn. "Every time!" The digimon groaned and sighed as she held still for Linzi to get the stick off. However, Linzi's laughter died as a cold shiver went down her spine. "Torpedomon, something's wrong." The girl turned around and began looking in all directions. "Keep your eyes open." She told her partner.

"Look at the lights!" Torpedomon directed her attention to the lights above the lake that were just barely visible. "TK!" Linzi gasped as she began to run towards where she had last seen the boy. "His light is dimming! We've got to get there now!" She was quickly out of breath as she tried to talk to Torpedomon while running. "HURRY!" Torpedomon yelled right as the duo heard a loud crashing noise behind them, the shaking of the ground forcing them to stop moving. "Oh no…" Linzi turned around slowly and braced herself against the ground's shakes. "Torpedomon…" "Yeah Linzi?" The digimon stood ready to fight. "Something tells me that we're about to have a bigger problem than TK's Crest." Linzi spoke slowly as two gold-tipped white tusks peeked out of the bushes. "I think you're right, unfortunately." Torpedomon gasped as a silver snout came into view, with a massive grin of sharp teeth following it. A large body followed that, covered with long brown fur, with three red horns on the top and strange silver designs surrounding a Japanese character. "Going somewhere?" The massive digimon asked, grinning ominously.

Linzi and Torpedomon exchanged looks. "I see your fear. You have every right to be afraid." The digimon's voice was extremely loud and grating. "Do you know who I am?" The digimon stared directly at them with his bright red eyes. "You… You're…" Torpedomon began to stutter, truly terrified. "I am Vikaralamon." The digimon announced, expecting Linzi to react. "You don't look much bigger than Dark Antylamon, or SkullGreymon for that matter…" She studied the digimon. "Linzi! This is not a time to joke! This is freaking Vikaralamon!" Torpedomon hissed in her ear. "Hm? Are you not afraid?" Vikaralamon laughed. "I don't even know who you are really, so not that much, no." Linzi stood up straight and put on a brave face. "Ha. Humans are so foolish. Now I am reminded as to why I wish to remove you all from this world." Vikaralamon laughed again.

"I am Vikaralamon! One of the twelve Digimon Devas, and widely considered the strongest!" The digimon stomped his foot, causing the ground to shake again. "Digimon diva?" Linzi asked her partner. "Deva. They're a group of the twelve most powerful Ultimate level digimon who served the Digimon Sovereigns in the old days…" Torpedomon whispered back. "Look, I'm sorry Mr. Vikaralamon, but my friend is in some serious trouble and we really need to get back to him. It was lovely meeting you!" Linzi turned around. "Stop." Vikaralamon commanded, and the sheer force of the word made her stop. "Uhm… Yes?" She turned around, now scared. "This world was made for Digimon only. BEGONE!" Vikaralamon glared at her and took another step forward. "BOAR BOG!" With a loud choking noise, a black, sticky-looking goo appeared in Vikaralamon's mouth and he spit it out at the two girls. "MOVE!" Torpedomon yelled as the two of them dodged the attack. "I've gotta do something!" Torpedomon gasped as she thought about the prospect of fighting a Deva by herself as a Champion. "I can do it for Linzi. I can do anything for her." She shook her head and got herself together. "HEY! VIKARALAMON! OVER HERE YOU BIG LUNK!" She yelled to divert his attention from Linzi, who was taking shelter. "TORPEDOMON DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO DOLFINOMON!" The champion-level digimon floated gracefully in the air and glared at Vikaralamon. "You've got spunk. I like that. BAO RAN!" A massive blue wheel appeared out of nowhere and began charging right at Dolfinomon. "HIYAH!" The digimon dodged the attack and fired one of her own back at the Deva. "AQUA BLASTER!" The attack struck Vikaralamon, and the digimon laughed. "Ha! That tickled!" Dolfinomon grimaced as she readied herself for the battle of her life. "BE CAREFUL DOLFINOMON!" Linzi yelled as she took cover in the woods.

"Here we are again Agumon… Back in the Digital World…" Tai stood up as he dusted off his clothes, looking around him. "Where are we?" He asked Agumon. "Your guess is as good as mine. I think we're still on Server though." The reptilian digimon began looking around. "Well, that's better than nothing I guess." Tai smiled. "Your mood sure has gotten better since we got back to the Digital World." Agumon noticed. "I'm ready to find my friends again. I know that Izzy said it had been several months in his email, and things aren't going so well anymore, but I've got to find them and make sure that they're okay." Tai told his friend, determination sparking in his eyes as his light above the lake returned to its full color. "I'm back, Digital World, and this time, I'm here until you don't need me anymore." He and Agumon began walking into the forest.

The duo had been walking in the forest for only half an hour when they heard the angry yells and shouts from the amusement park. "What's that noise?" Tai asked Agumon. "I don't know, but it sure doesn't sound good. Let's try to see what it is." "Definitely. We need to be careful though. Yeah, you can digivolve into your ultimate form, but I don't want to test that against any other digimon." Tai had wizened up a lot after his short time in the real world again. "Definitely right. It's better to be safe rather than sorry." Agumon began looking out of the bushes to try to find the source of the noise. "Look! It sounds like it's coming from over there!" Tai pointed to near where TK and Tokomon were and the duo began running towards the two and DemiDevimon.

"Come on TK! You've gotta believe me!" Tokomon sniffled and glared at DemiDevimon. "How can you believe that pipsqueak? He can barely keep himself together." The bat digimon sniggered and watched as TK's light over the lake slowly dimmed. "That's right, just a little more…" DemiDevimon meant to whisper, but instead let TK and Tokomon hear it. "Huh? What do you mean by that?" TK looked up at DemiDevimon as he began to stutter. "Uh, w-w-w-what? I didn't say anything! Hahahahahahaha!" DemiDevimon tried to laugh it off and failed. "TK! See? He's lying to you! Matt's coming back, and I'll always be your friend, I promise! You can trust me!" Tokomon tried again as DemiDevimon growled. "How can you believe him TK? You were so mad at him just a little while ago!" DemiDevimon turned to Tokomon and glared at the in-training digimon. "TK HELP!" DemiDevimon reached out to grab Tokomon as Tai and Agumon burst into the clearing.

"PEPPER BREATH!" Agumon fired off the attack at DemiDevimon, who jumped backwards. "TK! Are you okay?" Tai ran over to the little boy, who was now shaking and in tears. "He tried to make me and Tokomon not be friends anymore!" He pointed at DemiDevimon. "Agumon, what is that digimon?" Tai asked his partner, who was firing off more attacks at the bat digimon. "That's DemiDevimon, a trickster digimon who lies to almost everyone." Agumon stopped firing and glared at the digimon. "Eep! My cover has been blown again! AWAY I GO!" DemiDevimon took to the air to fly away from Agumon's attacks. "He should stay away for a while now. I toasted his wings pretty nicely." Agumon checked on Tokomon. "Are you okay, Tokomon?" He asked the digimon, who was trembling. TK saw his partner and picked him up. "Oh Tokomon, I'm so sorry that I didn't believe you. Can you forgive me please?" The little boy sniffled. "Of course I can TK, it wasn't your fault at all! I'm just so happy that I'm still your friend!" Tokomon blurted that out and the two began crying happy tears.

"It's nice to see that you two are getting along, but what did DemiDevimon mean by again?" Tai tried to interrupt the two. "Oh! Ms. Linzi stopped him from doing this a couple weeks ago. She went to get food and he came back when she was gone." TK explained. "Linzi? Who is that?" Tai asked Tokomon. "She's a member of another team that is here to help us apparently, but she won't let us know where her friends are." Tokomon explained. "Another group? Does she have a digimon?" Agumon asked. "Yep! Torpedomon is her name, and she can digivolve too!" TK laughed a little bit. "Not as much as Agumon can, but to champion at least." Tokomon nodded in agreement. "Interesting…" Tai turned to Agumon, who nodded. "I think we should go find Ms. Linzi so we can ask her some questions." He told TK and Tokomon. "Okay! We can take you to where she went." TK stood up and the quartet heard a piercing scream.

"THAT'S HER!" Tokomon yelled as Tai and Agumon began running in the direction of the scream. "We've got to be careful guys. There are all sorts of strong digimon here." Agumon told TK and Tai. "You've got to let the digimon handle it, okay?" "Okay! We'll do that." TK kept running with the group as they rounded another corner, closer to Linzi. "MS. LINZI, WE'RE COMING!" Tokomon yelled from his perch on TK's hat. The four ran past another corner and stopped in their tracks at the sight in front of them. "That digimon is massive!" Tai gasped and caught its attention. "Oh, you brought friends?" Vikaralamon turned around slowly from where he had Linzi backed up in a corner. "What? TK! Get out of here! He's too dangerous!" Linzi's mouth dropped when she saw the quartet. "Tai? Go! It's too dangerous for you guys here!" She yelled as Dolfinomon charged back onto the scene from where she had been knocked into the forest.

"Dolfinomon! Be careful!" Linzi yelled as she sneaked behind Vikaralamon's back to get away from the massive digimon. "AGUMON! HELP DOLFINOMON NOW!" Tai yelled and caught Linzi as the older girl nearly collapsed on the ground. "You got it Tai!" The orange digimon began running at Vikaralamon. "AGUMON DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO GREYMON!" The champion level digimon nodded at Dolfinomon and began conversing quickly. "What is this guy?" Greymon asked Dolfinomon, who dodged another attack. "This guy is Vikaralamon! He's one of the twelve Digimon Devas who protect the digital world, but I think this one thinks that protecting means removing anything that isn't a digimon!" Dolfinomon explained as quickly as she could. "Well, we've got a job to do then!" Greymon growled. "NOVA BLAST!" The attack hit Vikaralamon and distracted him from hitting Dolfinomon. "That tickled too!" The Deva digimon growled and slowly turned around. "We'll have to use his size against him!" Greymon yelled at Dolfinomon, who quickly moved around Vikaralamon to distract him again.

"You guys have got to get out of here. It's not safe with Vikaralamon in the park." Linzi looked Tai and TK in the eyes. "I'm not going. Greymon's helping beat Vikaralamon, and I know he, along with your partner, can do it." Tai met her gaze, and she nodded. "TK, you've got to get to a safe place then." She gave the younger boy a hug. "This is as safe a place as any if there are other digimon around." Tokomon reminded Linzi, who sighed. "All of you guys are so stubborn." Linzi facepalmed and turned back around to see Dolfinomon get hurled back into the forest. "DOLFINOMON! ARE YOU OKAY?" Panic covered her face as she began to run around the battle area to get to her partner. "LINZI, WATCH OUT!" Tai yelled as a piece of debris came flying towards her. "I GOT IT!" Tokomon yelled as he hopped off of TK's head. "TOKOMON DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOO PATAMON!"

The rookie digimon began flying towards Linzi as quick as he could. "BOOM BUBBLE!" Patamon knocked the piece of debris out of the air and away from Linzi as she smiled at him for his help. "Good work Patamon! Do you think you can digivolve again to try and help Greymon and Dolfinomon?" TK asked his friend. "I'm sorry TK, but I can't. I'm just too tired because we never had food…" Patamon seemed to deflate a little bit. "That's okay, I forgive you. We'll just have to be super duper careful then!" TK smiled and gave his partner a hug. "I hope those two can do this…" Tai murmured as he saw Dolfinomon come back out of the trees to help Greymon take down Vikaralamon. "You just gotta keep hoping for the best and keep good thoughts in your mind, right TK?" Patamon told the older boy, and TK nodded. "We always gotta keep our heads up and keep moving on, no matter what!" TK smiled and gasped as his Crest began to shine brightly.

"Well, would you look at that TK! Your Crest is glowing! You activated the power of your Crest in you." Tai smiled and gave the boy a high five. "You're completely right. We've got to keep hope alive and know that there will always be a happy ending to this." Tai nodded and touched his own Crest gently. "BE CAREFUL, GREYMON!" He yelled as Greymon landed on his back after Vikaralamon hit him with his tusks. "This… Digimon… Is so… powerful…" Greymon gasped. "THAT'S RIGHT! FEAR ME, PUNY DIGIMON! YOU SHALL NOT DEFEAT ME!" Vikaralamon roared and caught sight of Linzi in the trees. "AND YOU'LL BE THE FIRST TO DIE!" He started charging at the girl, who screamed again and began running through the trees. "LINZI!" Dolfinomon screamed as she began attacking Vikaralamon again with everything that she had in her. "STAY AWAY FROM MY FRIEND!" Vikaralamon turned around and stared at Dolfinomon for a little bit before beginning to laugh. "Do you really believe that you could ever hurt me?"

"DO YOU REALIZE WHO I AM? I AM ONE OF THE TWELVE DIGIMON DEVAS! I PROTECT THE DIGITAL WORLD AND ITS OCCUPANTS! I WILL END YOU AND YOUR PUNY LITTLE FRIENDS TOO!" Vikaralamon, now driven insane by the constant attacks, began to thrash about, destroying parts of the amusement park and the forest to create a level battlefield with only a few trees in it, and no major obstacles. "You can't run OR hide now!" The digimon began to laugh evilly and it glared at the six who had managed to group back together. "That's what you think!" Linzi yelled as she stood up from where she was leaning against Tai's shoulder. "You think that you're Mr. Bigshot, and we're little specks, but that's where you're majorly wrong, mister!" Vikaralamon looked amused.

"We are three of the Digidestined! We were created to save the digital world, something that you're supposed to be doing! With the hope in our minds, the courage in our hearts, and the trust in our digimon partners, there's no way we can lose!" Linzi yelled as Tai's, TK's, and her Crest began to glow. "Oh, new lights. I'm ever so terrified now." Vikaralamon deadpanned before laughing again. "Greymon, Dolfinomon, if we're going to beat this monster, you're going to have to trust me, understood?" Linzi told the two digimon. "What's going down?" Greymon asked. "You two have got to distract him for a while. I've got a plan, but I'll need some time to actually set it up, okay? And you have to trust me, otherwise, this won't work, and we'll all be doomed." Linzi emphasized. "I really wish you'd let the digimon handle it, Linzi. I don't want you getting hurt!" Dolfinomon tried to protest. "Dolfinomon, I need you to trust me!" Linzi yelled as Vikaralamon began to charge again. "But Linzi!" Dolfinomon protested. "GO!" The girl yelled, angry at her partner for protesting. "TK, Tai, I need you two to follow me." Linzi began leading TK, Tai, and Patamon away from the fighting.

"You see that broken rollercoaster up there? We're going to need to get up there, and with something heavy. Can you get that for me?" The girl asked the two boys and Patamon. "Definitely! How heavy is heavy?" Tai asked. "The heaviest thing that you can get me. Now, move quickly, I'm going to go help the two champions distract that nasty diva digimon." Linzi cracked a smile as she ran back to the other two. "I really hope she knows what she's doing…" Patamon frowned. "Well, she's gotta! She said she had a plan, remember?" TK smiled and began picking up a bunch of logs that were kinda heavy. "Tai, if we get bunches and bunches of these, then we can tie them together along with whatever else we find, and I'm sure that will be really heavy." TK told Tai. "That's a great idea buddy. Let's get to work as fast as we can on that then."

"HEY PIGSNOUT!" Linzi threw a rock at Vikaralamon's horn, distracting him from hitting Dolfinomon and Greymon, who were on the ground and trying to get up. "LINZI, NO!" Dolfinomon shrieked as Vikaralamon turned his attention to the girl. "I'LL BE FINE! KEEP ATTACKING HIM!" Linzi started running around in circles to prevent Vikaralamon from hitting her with an attack. "LINZI!" Dolfinomon tried to protest again. "JUST DO IT!" Linzi stopped her from continuing, and Dolfinomon sighed in worry. "Dolfinomon, I think if we don't start distracting him again, protecting Linzi will be the least of our worries!" Greymon stood up and growled. "NOVA BLAST!" "AQUA BLASTER!" The two attacks collided on the same spot on Vikaralamon's body and created a large explosion of hot steam and water. "GRAH!" Vikaralamon growled in pain as he turned around, forgetting about Linzi for the time being. "Here goes nothing!" Dolfinomon yelled as Vikaralamon returned to the two champion digimon. "Please hurry, guys…" Linzi looked up at the broken rollercoaster momentarily while Dolfinomon and Greymon distracted Vikaralamon for a little while longer.

Linzi, Tai, TK, and their partners are in a tough spot now! Will Linzi's plan work? Will they be able to defeat Vikaralamon despite his immense power? It'll take all of their wits and power together to do so!

* * *

A/N: Sorry for cliffies! 3


	23. The Trust in Each Other!

Disclaimer! I own only my OCs and potentially a few of the OC digimon. Everything else is owned by Saban Brands.

Hope you all enjoy!

Try Chapter 23

"Here goes nothing!" Linzi yelled as Vikaralamon growled angrily after another combination attack from Dolfinomon and Greymon. "YOU'RE JUST MAKING ME ANGRY!" The Deva stomped his feet and roared. "BOAR BOG!" The nasty black sludge struck Greymon square in the chest and threw the dinosaur digimon backwards. "GRAAAAH!" Greymon yelled out in pain as Vikaralamon turned his attention to Dolfinomon. "HEY! OVER HERE YOU OVERGROWN LUMP!" Linzi hurled a rock at Vikaralamon and hit him on one of his horns. "Someone else wants to die?!" The digimon grinned ominously. "LEAVE MY FRIENDS ALONE!" Linzi yelled and began running to the right as Vikaralamon began to attack. "FUSION BALL!" A red Bao Ran threw itself at Linzi as she dived to the ground, letting the attack fly over her and strike a concessions stand, causing it to explode. "MY COTTON CANDY MACHINE!" The girl yelled, standing up. "Now you've really messed up!" She glared at Vikaralamon, who simply laughed.

"TRY YOUR BEST, YOU WILL NEVER DEFEAT ME!" Vikaralamon roared and turned around to face TK and Tai, who had a heavy bundle of sticks and rocks at their feet. "YOU WILL BE FIRST! BOAR BOG!" The black sticky substance flowed around Tai and TK, preventing them from moving. "PATAMON! HELP ME!" TK cried out to his partner as Patamon tried to pull TK out of the gunk. "GREYMON!" Tai yelled, seeing his hurt partner slowly move out of the forest. "NOVA BLAST!" Vikaralamon took the attack and flinched. "What's the matter now? Can you not handle a simple champion's attack? AQUA BLASTER!" Dolfinomon tried to draw Vikaralamon's attention back onto the digimon. "GREYMON! DOLFINOMON! TIME FOR THE PLAN!" Linzi glanced up to see the broken rollercoaster hanging precariously on the edge of the track. "Here goes nothing…" She whispered to herself and began running for the heavy bundle right behind TK and Tai.

"LINZI, NO!" Dolfinomon screamed as she saw her partner grab the bundle and run off farther into the amusement park. "I'll deal with her later… First, IT IS YOU!" Vikaralamon sighed in annoyance as he saw the girl run off. "DOLFINOMON, NOW!" Greymon growled and grabbed some of Vikaralamon's fur. "Good idea!" Dolfinomon bit down on the fur as well and the duo began pulling the other direction. "Huh?" Vikaralamon began looking around and tried moving forward. "PULL HARDER!" Greymon yelled as the two champion digimon kept Vikaralamon from moving towards the two terrified digidestined. "TAI! TK! MOVE! PATAMON, GO!" Dolfinomon cried out as best she could with a mouthful of fur. "You heard her! Move! You're not trapped, just slowed down!" Patamon began flying ahead as TK and Tai began to move. "Ditch the shoes if you need to!" Tai told TK, and the duo jumped out of the goo and began running in the same direction Linzi headed in.

"GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! HOW DARE YOU! YOU SHALL DIE NOW!" Vikaralamon began thrashing about, sending Greymon and Dolfinomon crashing into the trees. "I WILL END THE LIVES OF ALL HUMANS IN THE DIGITAL WORLD, NO MATTER WHO THEY ARE!" The enraged digimon glared at Dolfinomon and Greymon, both very weak after the last hit. "We've got to buy her more time." Dolfinomon told the other digimon. "Whatever the cost may be. They must survive." Greymon nodded and the duo charged at Vikaralamon again. "HIYAH! NOVA BLAST!" "AQUA BLASTER!" The two attacks collided and created a thick coat of fog and steam that prevented any of the digimon from seeing each other. "GRAH! HOW DARE YOU! YOU SHALL PERISH!" Vikaralamon began to thrash about in the hopes of catching the two digimon.

Linzi heard the pained roars and growls coming from the battle as she reached the rollercoaster emergency access ladder. "I really hope this works…" She took a deep breath and began climbing the ladder as fast as she could. "Be safe guys…" She heard more growls from the fierce battle as she saw Tai and TK come into view. "GUYS? You got away?" She called down. "YEAH! Greymon and Dolfinomon are trying to keep him distracted, so whatever your plan is, you'd better hurry!" Tai called up. "YOU GUYS STAY HERE! I'll let you know if it's safe to come back!" Linzi yelled and began hurrying up the ladder again. "Here goes nothing." She cautiously put a foot on the slightly rusted metal track. "I've got to hurry. It doesn't matter if it's safe or not, nothing that I'm doing right now is safe." She told herself and mustered up the courage to begin walking on the track.

"There's the rollercoaster. I just need to get to the front of it…" The girl got to her hands and knees and crawled alongside the rollercoaster to avoid being seen by Vikaralamon, who was directly underneath the part of the rollercoaster that was hanging off the edge. "Be… Very… Careful…" She misplaced her hand and it slipped through the cracks. "Eep!" She let out a little yelp and unintentionally got Dolfinomon's attention. "Oh no…" Linzi saw Dolfinomon's face and made a shushing motion. "Quiet." She whispered and Dolfinomon worriedly looked away to fight Vikaralamon with Greymon. "Keep distracting!" Greymon caught sight of Linzi as well and began to increase the ante, surprising Vikaralamon. "Not so powerful anymore, are you?" Greymon growled proudly. "That's what you think. This is simply a fraction of my power! BAO RAN!" A purple Bao Ran wheel struck Greymon in the chest and threw the dinosaur digimon backwards, where he dedigivolved into Agumon. "OH NO!" Dolfinomon gasped as she faced Vikaralamon by herself, simply dodging attacks.

Linzi loaded the heavy bundle in the farthest rollercoaster car that she could reach. "Here goes nothing…" She whispered and began to head to the back of the rollercoaster. However, before she could reach the back, Vikaralamon stumbled backwards into the rollercoaster tracks, blinded by Dolfinomon's Aqua Blaster attack and breaking several of the supports, including the supports that held up the area where Linzi was standing. "AAAAAAAAAAIYEEEEEEEEEEE!" The girl tried to grab onto another piece of scaffolding, but missed and she and the rollercoaster began to plummet to the ground. "LINZI!" Dolfinomon screamed and Vikaralamon looked up to see the rollercoaster and the girl falling towards him. "It seems like your partner is doomed!" He ominously laughed and, looking up, opened his large mouth. "NO!" Dolfinomon began to charge at Vikaralamon, but was knocked aside by one of his tusks.

"HERE GOES NOTHING!" Linzi screamed and squeezed her eyes shut, bracing herself for the pain. "NO…" Dolfinomon closed her eyes as she watched her partner fall towards her doom. However, the digimon opened her eyes after a pained roar from Vikaralamon surprised her. "Huh?" She saw Vikaralamon trapped beneath a massive pile of rollercoaster cars and stabbed by the bundle of logs and sticks. "Wait… Did that work?" She gasped and began looking for Linzi. "LINZI? WHERE ARE YOU?!" The champion-level digimon saw a bush near Vikaralamon begin to move. "LINZI!" She floated towards the bush as fast as she could and saw a battered and bloodied Linzi standing up. "Let me carry you, okay?" Linzi leaned on Dolfinomon as the two headed away from Vikaralamon.

"Where are you most hurt?" Linzi's friend asked her as Agumon walked up to the duo as well. "Everywhere." Linzi laughed softly. "There's a lot of pain on my left leg, around the same spot where Octomon got a hold of me…" The girl tried to touch her leg, but recoiled almost immediately. "Yep, there's a lot of pain there…" "Everything else to me looks like it's shall stuff. My guess would be is that you landed on your leg. It's a wonder you didn't break it." Agumon did a quick inspection. "Thanks Agumon. Can you go back to where you found TK and Patamon and get my first aid kit? It's in the blue and purple bag." Linzi asked the digimon. "Sure! I can do that." The reptilian digimon smiled cheerfully and ran off into the bushes.

"GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Vikaralamon roared in anger and pain. "What? How is he still not down?" Linzi gasped as she and Dolfinomon watched Vikaralamon slowly stand up and roll the rollercoaster cars off of him. "It's going to take A LOT MORE THAN THAT TO TAKE ME DOWN!" The digimon began walking towards the two. "We've gotta move." Linzi tried to stand up. "No. Linzi, I should've trusted you earlier when you said you had a plan." Dolfinomon stopped her. "It's okay Dolfinomon, but we really should be moving unless we wanna be boar meat." Linzi's eyes widened as Dolfinomon stood in front of her friend. "I failed to trust you, and you paid the price for it, but I'm asking you now to forgive me, and to trust me." Dolfinomon faced off against Vikaralamon. "Dolfinomon, what are you saying? Of course I forgive you, and you've protected me throughout this entire journey… How could I not trust you? You saved me from Octomon, the Dolphmon, Harpymon, Frigimon, and Octomon again, as well as so many other digimon…" Linzi murmured softly to her friend.

"I'm really thankful that you were able to have so much trust and faith in me, even if I couldn't have it in you… But I resolve from this day forward, I will trust you with everything I have! I PROMISE!" Dolfinomon broke out into a massive smile, and Linzi began to cry. "Thank you, Dolfinomon, I always will believe in you, no matter what happens." Linzi looked down as her Crest began to glow even brighter than before. "Woah!" She gasped as she watched the glow surround Dolfinomon as well. "YOU CAN DO IT DOLFINOMON! I PUT ALL OF MY TRUST IN YOU RIGHT NOW AND FOREVERMORE!" Linzi yelled as Dolfinomon began to digivolve again.

"DOLFINOMON!" The digimon's blue and white skin began to extend to form a dual-pronged tail that looked a lot like a mermaid's tail. The skin also changed color to a sunrise pink and maroon color. Her fins that served as wings became more streamlined and shifted downwards near her tail. "DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Dolfinomon lost her horn, and the fins on the upper part of her body changed until they became arms, with a sea-green trident appear in a flash of light in one of her hands. Dolfinomon's seal-like face also quickly formed into a more human-like face, with long, flowing burgundy hair trailing her. "MEERMAIMON!" The newly digivolved Ultimate digimon somehow levitated in the air as she glared at Vikaralamon.

Linzi gazed in awe as her friend stared down Vikaralamon. "GRAH! SO BE IT! YOU ARE STILL UNABLE TO DEFEAT ME! BAO RAN!" A red Bao Ran Wheel flew at the duo. "Be careful Meermaimon!" Linzi cried out as the attack grew closer. "Do not worry. I've got this." The ultimate digimon thrust her trident out. "PROTECTOR OF THE SEA! REDIRECT!" The trident began to glow a bright blue color, and it stopped Vikaralamon's attack in its tracks. "WHAT?!" Vikaralamon gasped as Linzi began to cheer. "YOU GO GIRL!" She smiled as big as she could. "REDIRECT ACTIVATE!" Meermaimon pulled her trident back and thrust it out again, sending the red Bao Ran Wheel right back at Vikaralamon, who roared in anger. "NO!" The attack hit the ultimate right in the forehead, throwing him back into more amusement park equipment. "GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Linzi and Meermaimon heard the digimon's pained roar, and the sound being cut off. "Do you think he's down?" Linzi asked her friend. "I sure hope so." Meermaimon smiled and shined a bright yellow light as she dedigivolved into her in-training form, Nubaxiemon.

"Nubaxiemon! Are you okay?" Linzi caught her tired partner. "I used up a lot of energy doing that… I'm tired now…" She yawned as Agumon walked into the clearing with Tai and TK. "Hey guys." Linzi smiled, also exhausted. "Vikaralamon?" Tai asked. "Dealt with. Little Nubaxiemon here digivolved into her Ultimate form and kicked his butt." "That's good to hear. Now, let's get you taken care of." Patamon used his tiny hands to open up the first aid kit that Agumon had brought. The six finally were able to relax as they slowly treated Linzi for her injuries.

"GRAH! How did they manage to beat Vikaralamon?" DemiDevimon panicked at seeing the powerful Ultimate defeated. 'DEMIDEVIMON! YOU HAVE FAILED ME AGAIN!' DemiDevimon's master roared in the rookie digimon's mind. "Yes master! I'm terribly sorry! Please, give me one last chance! The two at Digitammamon's diner are still trapped! I will go and make sure they are trapped their forever!" The bat digimon began to fly towards the lake, not knowing that he had eavesdroppers. "We've got to follow him." Ally told Sora, who nodded and began running after DemiDevimon, with their digimon in tow.

"We don't have much time. The two at the diner most likely have two of my friends near them as well, and if DemiDevimon and his master learn about more of my friends, we might be doomed." Ally told the other three. "That's exactly right, which is why we need to get across this lake as soon as possible, or at least start running around it." Sora took off again, with Biyomon right behind her. "Let's go Kangamon." Ally started running again with her digimon working as hard as she could to keep up. The quartet quickly began passing through the forest, disturbing several disgruntled digimon, who didn't bother following them.

"Master! I do as you command." DemiDevimon bowed in midair as his master's presence vanished from the area. "Just break everything and somehow frame one of those two digidestined twerps…" The digimon laughed as he flew over the fog-covered lake. "It's been a while since I've seen the sunset…" DemiDevimon saw the sun setting and gazed at its beauty. "It's a shame that Lord Myotismon can't watch sunrises… They're beautiful." The cold-hearted digimon showed signs of emotion. "Nothing really can compare to it." He shrugged the sight off and continued on his way to Digitammamon's Diner.

The girls decided to keep walking through the night, despite what their tired bodies told them to do. "If we want to keep an eye on that digimon, we've got to keep walking. He'll get tired eventually, and that's when we can take our break." Sora argued. "You're right. I keep overhearing him saying something about a diner that somebody is at. We can stop him from keeping them there, at least." Ally agreed. "I'm already starting to get tired though…" Kangamon yawned, and Biyomon followed suit. "Don't worry guys; the lake is already starting to end at some areas. I wonder if it creates a bunch of streams." Ally took a step towards the lake, but was pulled back by Sora, who pointed at a light in the trees. "I think we found our diner."

Just outside of the diner, Matt opened the door, holding it open for Joe, who was carrying a large bag of trash. "Be careful with that Joe. Digitammamon is already mad at us today for breaking those plates." "Yeah, I'll try to be more careful." Joe told the younger boy, who turned away with a skeptical look on his face. He shut the door and Joe quickly put the trash in the large dumpster near the back of the diner. He turned back to head into the Diner, but saw a flash of pink in the corner of his eye. "What's that?" He turned towards to the direction he saw it, and saw another digimon behind him.

"WOAH! WHO ARE YOU?!" Standing face to face with DemiDevimon, Joe began to tremble at the sudden scare. "NO! GRAH!" DemiDevimon reacted as fast as he could and flew up and away from the dumpster, where he had been reaching for the trash bags. "What in the world was that?" Joe wondered and walked back inside, ready to tell Matt about the digimon that he had seen just then. "Why is there always someone else against me too…" DemiDevimon, on the roof of the diner, hissed under his breath and looked around for anything else that would ruin his plans. "Take two, and this time, I will succeed." The digimon leaned over the edge of the roof and saw a number of containers holding food sitting on a windowsill. The digimon cackled and flew down to the containers.

"Let's just remove this screw, and away we go!" DemiDevimon used his talons to pull out one of the screws of the windowsill, causing it to tilt dangerously to the left and forcing the containers to begin sliding down. "That should keep them there for at least another few months!" He quietly sniggered and flew away towards the forest. "Sora, we've got to get the containers of food on the ground now." Ally alerted the girl as the quartet ran to the diner and began offloading the containers from the windowsill onto the ground. "DemiDevimon's goal here seems to be keeping Joe and Matt here as long as he can… I'm not sure where he's going with it, but he's succeeded pretty well so far." Sora placed the last box on the ground and the quartet ran back to the forest.

"Ally? Sora? Kangamon and I are going deeper into the forest to find food for tonight. You guys must be starving!" Biyomon cheerfully chirped as the two walked further into the forest. "We should probably find a good place to sleep for tonight then." Sora straightened herself and pulled Ally farther into the forest as well. "Hold up now, Sora, there's something that we need to talk about." Ally stopped her and made the girl sit down. "What is it?" Sora asked as Ally sat down as well. "It's about the group." Ally told her, and Sora made a face. "Don't give me that. It's a very valid concern right now." Ally sighed and shook her head.

"You saw that battle. Tai, TK, and Linzi are together. That means, sooner rather than later, they're going to find Joe, Matt, and whoever is with them of my friends." Ally told the girl. "What does that have to do with me?" Sora asked, frowning. "You know what it means. Soon, your friends will be all together, and the only one not there will be you, Sora. Are you sure you don't want to return to them?" Ally took one of Sora's hands and squeezed it gently. "You know my answer. I don't want to go back to them." Ally sighed. "Still the same reason? You don't feel like you belong?" Sora nodded. "That's okay, but I'm still going to talk to you about this." Ally gave her a quick hug. "I know what it feels like to not belong very well. I lived it for most of my life." Sora turned to the older girl in confusion. "Wait, what? What do you mean by that?"

"Remember how I told you about my friend Michael? He and I lived on the streets together for a little while, but before he was there, I fended for myself for a long time." Ally sighed. "My parents left me on the streets when I was little. I don't know why, and I don't remember much about them, except for the fact that my mother was suspicious of me from birth, and that she was a self-proclaimed seer. That, and my third birthday." Ally laughed cynically. Sora didn't say anything, but only gave Ally another hug. "It's a tough life by yourself. It may seem like you can't trust anyone right now, but you have me, Biyomon, and Kangamon, three more people than I had." Ally smiled softly at Sora, who began tearing up a little bit. "What was it like?" Sora asked, unsure of herself.

"It was the hardest lifestyle ever. I tried my best to live a normal life, I didn't steal food, I didn't beg. The only way I ate was when the soup kitchens were open, or I was lucky enough to be the first one at some food that some people would just throw out." Ally told Sora, who frowned. "How did you survive for so long?" "I'm not sure how I did… Through the kindness of others, and pure luck at some points. When you're desperate, you have nothing to lose, and when you have nothing to lose, you fight with everything you have, no matter what. That gets you through a lot of situations." "Well, what happened when you met Michael?" Sora asked.

"Michael changed my life for the better. Before, when I was struggling so much, I fought every day for my food. Michael put a stop to that. It wasn't always the best food, or the healthiest, or maybe even food gotten legally, but he was willing to do whatever to survive, an instinct I guess that I've always lacked." Ally sighed happily, but shook her head and laughed a bit. "I'm probably sounding like a lovesick fool or something. I miss him." She laughed again and took Sora's hand, surprising the girl. "Sora, promise me that when you fall in love, you love that person with all of your heart." "I will, I promise…" Sora sighed quietly. "And don't you dare pull that "I won't fall in love" stuff. That's what I said at a young age, but when you meet that right person, you'll know immediately. That's what your heart tells you is best." Ally gave the girl a hug. "How can you be so sure of all this stuff?" Sora asked. "It's in our hearts, Sora. Kindness and love go hand in hand. One without the other just doesn't work, and don't let yourself settle for anyone who isn't kind to you." Ally smiled at the girl and touched her own Crest. "We girls gotta stick together somehow." The two began to laugh as Kangamon and Biyomon returned with food.

"Everything alright?" Kangamon asked, surprised to see the two laughing. "Everything will be okay." Sora smiled and touched her Crest as well. "That's wonderful to hear! Now, let's eat so we can get some sleep!" Biyomon cheered and the quartet chowed down on the delicious fruit. "What are we going to do in regards to watches?" Kangamon asked. "I'll take first, and then we can go from there." Sora volunteered. "It would probably work better if we all took a shift, instead of pairing up, so we each get more sleep." Ally pointed out, and Biyomon nodded. "I'll take second, and you two can fight it out for third and fourth." Ally giggled quietly. "I'm okay with fourth if you're okay with third." Kangamon told Biyomon. "That's fine by me." The pink bird digimon smiled.

Nearby, Luke and Michael were sleeping in a tree, letting their digimon take watch that night. "Ravenmon, there are other digimon nearby." Chinchilmon smiled broadly. "There are digimon everywhere in this world." Ravenmon reminded the cheerful digimon. "I know, but I know these digimon. It's Biyomon and Kangamon." Chinchilmon clapped his hands. "Really? Sora and Ally are near here then." Ravenmon almost took off to tell Michael and Luke, but stopped himself. "I think we shouldn't tell Michael and Luke this quite yet. Something tells me that Sora and Ally still need to be alone for a little bit." The wise digimon nodded as Chinchilmon agreed. "I never thought about it like that, but yeah, they probably do! I'm glad that we found them though, just in case we do need them." Chinchilmon stayed positive. "Any update on Matt and Joe, by the way?" "No. It looks like the diner has closed for the night, and they're either doing dishes or sleeping." Ravenmon told him, and the two settled down for their watch.

With Vikaralamon defeated and DemiDevimon's motives becoming clear, the Digidestined are slowly becoming stronger and more united! However, with new challenges approaching, will their newfound friendships stand the tests brought to them?


	24. Digitammamon's Diner!

Disclaimer! I own only my OCs and potentially a few of the OC digimon. Everything else is owned by Saban Brands.

Hope you all enjoy!

A/N: This chapter was where I first drew the original idea for this story! It's been roughly five months since I posted the first chapter, and I am blown away by the support that this story has gotten. It's come a long way, and I am so excited for y'all to see where this is going next!

Try Chapter 24

Matt was woken by the sound of yelling in the diner. "HOW COULD YOU BE SO CARELESS?! THIS WILL COST YOU EVEN MORE!" Digitammamon yelled in anger and Matt instantly groaned. "Joe, again?" The boy stood up and stretched as his digimon partner slowly woke up. "Is Digitammamon yelling at Joe again?" The boy in question slowly walked in and nodded. "Apparently the cart that I was putting dishes on was broken, and it collapsed and broke all of the dishes…" Matt sighed heavily. "That's at least another week, if not more." "Look at the bright side! We still get free food for at least a week!" Gomamon tried to be cheerful for the two humans in the room. "Not helping Gomamon." Gabumon whispered to the fish-digimon, who pouted. "Well, I'm awake now, so let's get back to work then." Matt walked out of the room where they were allowed to sleep, fists clenched. Joe nodded and followed Matt out of the room with Gomamon and Gabumon on his heels.

"Joe, how about you stay on washing dishes, and I'll dry and put them away." Matt saw where the cart had broken. "Just be careful with them, okay?" He looked at Joe, who looked away, feeling guilty. "I'll try my hardest." The older boy promised. "Gomamon, go with Joe, and Gabumon, you'll be with me." Matt kept his voice level and walked off to begin drying the dishes that Joe had already washed. "He's just tired Joe, don't let it get to your head. We'll get out of here eventually." Gabumon tried to cheer up Joe. "I appreciate the kind words Gabumon, but it's going to be on me to get us out of here because I'm the one who keeps breaking everything…" Joe sighed and began washing dishes again as Gabumon walked over to Matt.

"Matt, you really need to not be so hard on Joe! He's trying his best." Gabumon pleaded. "There's the issue Gabumon, his best is just not cutting it right now. At this rate, we'll be stuck in here for the rest of our life." Matt grabbed a pile of plates and bent down to put them in the cabinet. "It almost feels like he wants me to be stuck here forever, because that's how bad his best is right now." Matt snapped and stood up quickly, hitting his head on the countertop. "Ow!" He hissed in pain as Gabumon gasped. "Are you okay?" He tried to give his partner a hug around the legs. "Quite frankly, no, I'm not okay. I would rather just not talk about it, okay Gabumon?" The now-irate Matt grabbed a trash bag that was full and began walking out of the diner to put it in the dumpster, leaving Gabumon watching him leave, concerned for his friend.

"Matt's upset." Gomamon helpfully told Joe. "I could see that, and hear that for that matter." Joe sighed. He wiped off another plate and placed it on the stack for Matt to dry. "Joe, you can't let him get to you. You know he doesn't mean what he's saying." Gomamon caught a plate from hitting the floor. "Thanks buddy…" Joe sighed and took the plate from his friend. "You're letting this get to you! Look at me, Joe." Gomamon jumped on the counter and forced Joe to look at the digimon. "It's not the end of the world. It's only another week. We've just gotta be super careful from now…" Gomamon trailed off as Joe turned around to see the annoyed face of Digitammamon. "Why are you only talking?! GET BACK TO WORK! AND WHERE IS YOUR COUNTERPART?!" Joe and Gomamon began washing dishes at twice the speed again while apologizing. "He's taking the trash out, Digitammamon." Gabumon answered for the duo. "See to it that he gets back soon! I am losing business because of the stench!" The digimon growled and stomped through the swinging doors to the restaurant.

Michael watched as Matt lugged the heavy trash bag into the dumpster. "He's mad. Really mad." Michael whispered to Chinchilmon, who nodded. "It's in his mannerisms. I wonder what's got him so worked up." Michael wondered as Chinchilmon relayed the information to Luke and Ravenmon, who were keeping an eye out for the bat digimon that they were looking for. "Oh?" Michael leaned in as close as he could to get a better view of Matt's face. "Is he crying?" Michael saw Matt wipe his face off with his sleeve and run back inside. "He was… Something's wrong… I wonder if I'd be able to get into the diner some way…" Chinchilmon came back right as Michael murmured his idea, and the little digimon shot it down immediately. "Absolutely not. What's up?" "There's something wrong with Matt. The way that he's acting… It's off, and it's off enough for it to be noticed." Michael told his friend. "Well, he'll have to deal with it himself, because you're not going in that diner. We don't know if you could even get out." Chinchilmon told Michael, who nodded. "I'll wait to see if it resolves itself."

"Any sight of that digimon, Ravenmon?" Luke, at the base of a tree near a clearing, asked his partner, who was in said tree. "No, it's like he just completely left this area entirely." Ravenmon poked his head out and told Luke. "He's just vanished." "I'm not entirely complaining. He was never good news. I just wish we knew what he was and what he wanted with these guys…" Luke sighed and the two walked back to where Michael and Chinchilmon were. "Any luck?" Michael asked. "Nope." Luke shook his head. "How about you?" "Nothing much. Matt's getting more and more upset as the days go by, so I'm starting to get worried about him, but nothing terrible has happened yet." "Yet?" Luke asked. "I can feel it in my bones or something." Michael shrugged. "Where was that when that bat digimon led us to Kyukimon?" Ravenmon teased. "Okay, she was a freaking bewitching digimon, that doesn't count." Michael stuck his tongue out and protested. The quartet settled down to watch the diner for another day.

"JOE! Please don't tell me that was you…" Matt shuddered as he heard a massive crash. "No, it wasn't me! I don't know what it was…" Joe looked around and didn't see anything out of place. "CHILDREEEEEEEEEEN!" Digitammamon stormed into the back room, looking around for anything out of place. "What. Was. That. Noise." The furious digimon hissed. "We don't know Digitammamon. It wasn't anything in here, because none of us dropped anything or something like that." Gabumon spoke quickly in an attempt to diffuse the egg-digimon's anger. "I heard it! It came from back there!" Digitammamon pointed towards a back closet. "We've never been back there, so it couldn't have been us." Gomamon shrugged as Digitammamon opened the door to be greeted by a hoard of Chuumon. "GRAAAAAAAAAAH!" Digitammamon growled angrily. "YOU! GET RID OF THEM NOW!" He pointed to Joe. "I'll do my best!" He stepped forward, unsure how to proceed as Digitammamon stomped out of the kitchen.

"Let me, Joe." Matt sighed and quickly put away the dish that he was holding. "Chuumon! There's cheese outside in the forest!" Joe yelled right before Matt could say anything. "Cheese?!" The Chuumon hoard squeaked. "I STILL HEAR SQUEAKING!" Digitammamon roared. "GABUMON!" Matt yelled. "On it! BLUE BLASTER!" The attack blasted the group of weak digimon out into the forest, knocked out. "Oh…" Joe sighed. "They would've been back for more cheese later if we didn't just do that." Matt snapped, his voice cold. "Matt!" Gabumon tried to calm the boy down, but Matt was having none of it.

"You know Joe, maybe you should be done for the day. You're creating more and more problems that I have to deal with because you're unable to do one single thing without messing it up!" Matt yelled at Joe, who's face paled. "Matt! I think we all need to take a break!" Gabumon got between the two boys. "Come on Joe, let's go to the break room." Gomamon led his partner to the break room as Joe tried to process what Matt had said. Matt growled angrily and turned around, finishing the stack of plates that he needed to dry as Gabumon frowned and put the plates away. 'This is very bad… And I'm not sure what to do about it...' Matt's partner tried to brainstorm potential ideas. 'Anything would require complete cooperation with the boys, and they're not going to cooperate with anything now…' Matt and Gabumon spent the rest of the day attempting to work overtime to compensate for their losses that day.

"How are we going to set up watches tonight?" Michael asked. "Actually, never mind. I'll take all of tonight's watch. I need to keep an eye on that diner." He changed his mind. "Are you sure, Michael? You'll be exhausted, and we can't really afford to have you exhausted now." Luke expressed his concern. "Hey, it won't be the first all-nighter I've pulled since we've been here. I've dealt with it before." Michael waved off his concerns and walked over to his preferred watching position. "Alright, if you insist." Chinchilmon curled into a ball and lied down next to the dying fire as Luke and Ravenmon did the same. 'Here's to see if my suspicions were right, Matt.' Michael turned his attention to the diner and wasn't surprised when he saw movement.

"Gabumon, you go on to bed. I'm going to keep working for a few more hours." Matt told his partner. "Matt, it's been a very stressful day, so we really should all get to bed." "I said go to bed, Gabumon." Matt told Gabumon again, this time as a command. "If you insist…" Gabumon hugged his friend and headed to the break room, where Joe and Gomamon had been all afternoon. 'I really messed up today…' Matt thought to himself, finishing the last batch of dishes for the day. 'I yelled at Joe, hurt innocent digimon, got mad at Gabumon…' The bearer of the Crest of Friendship sighed and walked to the doors to the back of the diner. 'I wonder…' He pushed them open, expecting to hear Digitammamon walking up behind him. 'Can I escape?' His heart began to race as he stepped outside of the diner and into the fresh open air for the first time in months. 'I'm free if I want to be…' He began to walk away from the diner, reveling in the fresh air.

'Wait… But I can't just leave Joe and Gabumon and Gomamon…' The boy suddenly remembered his friends in the diner still. 'I can't? Why not? It's clear that they really aren't trying to get out… Maybe I was right… Maybe Joe is trying to keep me here forever… I can't even trust my own partner then… If I can't trust my own friends, than who can I trust?' Matt began to slip into darker thinking. 'Who says that we can even get back home after this anyways… We were supposed to get home after Devimon, after Etemon… But now we're here, with no real enemy except each other in sight… Can only one of us get home?' The preteen started running off into the forest. 'The sooner I get away from this diner, the better. I just want to forget about everything…'

Matt stopped just in front of a small lake and stared at his reflection, noticing the tears on his cheeks. 'Why am I crying? What's the matter with me! I'm not supposed to cry!' He yelled at himself and sat down on the ground and took out his harmonica. He stared at it blankly for a minute before beginning to play a melancholy melody.

"I knew it." Michael saw Matt run off into the forest and the older boy stood up. "Luke, I'm going after Matt. He's running off. I'll be back as soon as I can." He woke Luke, and began running off after Matt. 'Where is that boy going? He doesn't even have his partner…' Michael slowed to a stop as he saw Matt stop in front of a small lake. 'He's crying again.' Michael listened as Matt began to play his harmonica. 'It's haunting… Is that what he's feeling right now?' Michael wondered as Matt continued to play, creating a saddening song as he let his emotions out through his music. He stopped playing abruptly, shocking Michael as he stood up and began walking into the lake. 'What is he doing?' Michael gasped as he saw Matt look across the water. 'He better not… I've got to do something.' Michael walked out into the clearing, and began running towards Matt. "Wait! Stop! Don't go into the lake!" Michael yelled as Matt turned around, his eyes widening. "Get out of the lake! Please!" Michael stood at the edge of the lake, holding out his hand for Matt to take it.

"Who are you?" Matt reached out to Michael. "My name is Michael. I'm your friend." Michael smiled at Matt as Matt grabbed his hand. "Let's get you out of this lake." Michael pulled Matt, now dripping wet, out of the lake. "Thank you… I don't know what I was going to do…" Matt sat down at the edge of the lake and stared out across it. "You're hurting." Michael simply replied. "How do you know?" Matt stared at Michael quizzically. "Your harmonica. The way that you were playing it was filled with such sorrow and hurt, and I heard it in the forest, so I followed the sound here. Do you need to talk?" Michael asked and gave Matt a slight hug as the boy processed the information. "Um… I'm not sure…" Matt trailed off.

"Well, it never hurts to talk. What's going on?" Michael tried again. "Do you know of Digitammamon's Diner?" Matt asked. "Yes, I've heard that they have very good food there." Michael proceeded cautiously. "My… Friend and I had a meal there, but we didn't have enough money to pay for it all and Digitammamon is letting us work to pay off our debt, but my friend keeps breaking stuff, which increases our debt… At this rate, we'll never be able to leave and get home…" Matt looked away and wiped his eyes. "That doesn't sound like a very kind friend thing to do to me…" Michael frowned as well. "He says that he's not doing it on purpose, but it happens so much that it just seems like he's doing it on purpose… I just want to go home…" Matt began to cry, and he punched his arm.

"Hey now, don't hit yourself. It's okay to cry every now and then. I know all about you. You're one of the digidestined, right? The digimon of Server are very grateful that you helped defeat Etemon for them." Michael hugged Matt, waiting for the reply. "That wasn't even me. That was Tai, and he's gone now, and I've lost the others, and I can't find TK, and I can't protect myself, much less him, and-" Matt dissolved into more tears as Michael rubbed his back soothingly. "Hey, you've made it this far, right? You've survived so much, and are so strong regardless of what's happening now. I can't speak for the others, but I know one of my friends is with TK, and he's very safe right now. It may seem impossible to try to be optimistic now, but you've got to believe in yourself, Matt." The duo stiffened as they heard noise in the forest.

"Get down." Michael whispered as the two hid in the thick grasses by the lake's edge. "What is it?" Matt asked as DemiDevimon flew into the clearing of the lake. "The bat digimon… I knew it." Michael realized suddenly and hushed Matt so the two could listen to DemiDevimon's ramblings.

"That should do it! Those pesky digidestined at the diner will be stuck there for life now, and there's no way that their friendship will last after this new escapade!" The digimon cackled evilly and flew off towards the mountains. "Hear that? It's not Joe's fault, Matt. That digimon has been causing the majority of your troubles, it seems." The two crept out of the bushes. "I guess…" Matt still seemed unconvinced. "I feel pretty awful about it though… I yelled at him today, and he's taking it really badly…" "What's stopping you from apologizing then?" Michael asked. "I don't know…" "That's okay. It's okay to not know what's stopping you from doing something. It's okay to not know what's going to happen next. The only thing that you can do is the best that you can in that moment. If that means you can't apologize, it's okay." Michael gave Matt his words of advice.

"Thank you… Michael, right?" Matt smiled softly. "If you want my opinion, I'd try leaving as soon as you can, maybe even tomorrow. I don't want you being stuck here forever, and I know you can leave this way." Michael told the younger boy. "That's right. Tomorrow is the day we leave Digitammamon's Diner, regardless of what Digitammamon says." Matt stood up, and turned to Michael. "Thank you. I don't know what I would have done had you not stopped me." He gave the older boy a hug. "It's not a problem. Helping people is always something that I've done with my life." Michael smiled. "If you ever need my help, especially tomorrow, just call for friendship, okay?" "I'll do that. I promise." Matt nodded. "Now, you've got to get to the Diner again before Digitammamon notices that you're missing." Michael pointed to the sky to the east, which was beginning to lighten up. Matt began to walk to the trees as Michael stood by the lake, staring out over the slowly developing fog.

Matt quickly made it back to the diner right as the sun was beginning to peak over the horizon. 'Just enough time to get into the room and pretend like I was sleeping.' He slowly opened the door and snuck into the room, breathing a sigh of relief when he saw that Gabumon, Joe, and Gomamon were all still sleeping. 'Let's get at least a little bit of sleep.' He thought and laid down near Gabumon, relaxing as best as he could as his apprehension for the upcoming day began to build.

"Hey Luke. I'm back." Michael whispered to the tired teen. "Finally. What took you so long? I was about to have Chinchilmon go out and look for you." Luke stretched and yawned. "Sorry about that. Matt needed some help, and I was the one who could give it to him." Michael laughed quietly. "He's okay now, and I convinced him that he and Joe need to escape from Digitammamon's Diner today, or they were never going to get out, so it looks like we're going to start moving today." "That's some good news." Ravenmon landed on Luke's head. "It's better than staying here, for sure." Chinchilmon ran up to his partner, who picked the digimon up. "By the way, we've got to listen up, because I told him that I'd help him if he needs it today to get away from Digitammamon, and that means you, Chinchilmon." Michael laughed at the expression on Chinchilmon's face. "I guess I'll have to eat more today." Chinchilmon sighed and batted at Michael's face with one of his paws.

"Look over there!" Ravenmon used one of his wings to point on the other side of the Diner, near the lake. "It's Tai and TK!" Chinchilmon smiled widely. "Linzi and another digimon too! We need to get her over here so we can talk to her." Michael noticed, and Chinchilmon dashed off into the woods to get their friends.

"Tai, TK, my friends are near here." Linzi saw Chinchilmon out of the corner of her eye. "I need to go find them. You two go check out that Diner, and I'll meet you there as soon as I can, okay?" Linzi gave TK and Tai quick hugs, and ran into the forest following Chinchilmon, with Nubaxiemon hot on her heels. "Well, TK, I would bet that your brother is somewhere near that Diner. Maybe we should go ask the patrons if they've seen anybody that looks like us." Tai suggested. "Definitely! And maybe we'll find Sora, and Mimi, and Joe, and Izzy too!" TK began to skip along, and the two began to cover ground quickly.

"Michael and Luke!" Linzi ran to her friends and gave them a big hug. "I've missed you guys so much!" "We missed you too Linzi." Michael smiled and caught sight of Nubaxiemon. "What happened to Torpedomon?" He asked. "It's a long story…" Linzi giggled a bit as Nubaxiemon jumped on her head. "To be quick about it, TK and I drove off this awful bat-like digimon called DemiDevimon, and were attacked by a Digimon Deva called Vikaralamon. After a really long fight that wouldn't have been won without help from Tai and a gigantic rollercoaster, Dolfinomon digivolved again into Meermaimon and defeated Vikaralamon." Linzi paraphrased what she, TK, and Tai had gone through. "It sounds like you guys went through something like we did." Chinchilmon, eyes widened, told the two girls. "What happened to you guys?" Nubaxiemon piped up.

"I followed Joe here, where he got stuck in a cycle of working for Digitammamon for food." Luke quickly explained. "That's basically what happened with Matt too, except he had a bit more of an emotional journey." Michael simply stated. "Oh, and we kinda had a run in with an ancient digimon called Kyukimon, who almost killed Michael, but fortunately, with Toucamon's help, I managed to digivolve from Trileptimon into Enigmon and beat it!" Chinchilmon puffed out his chest proudly. "Woah! You guys are okay though, right?" Linzi's mouth dropped, and Michael nodded. "Yeah, Luke says I only have to wear the bandages for a little while longer." "Speaking of bandages, Linzi got hurt too when she fought against Vikaralamon, so can you check her out too Luke?" Nubaxiemon looked at Luke with puppy-dog eyes. "Of course." Luke laughed slightly. "Let's take a look." He made Linzi sit down and pulled out his first aid kit. "It's mainly my leg, with only minor scrapes basically everywhere else." Linzi explained.

"Hello? Is anyone home?" Tai, TK, Agumon, and Patamon entered Digitammamon's Diner. "Hello! How are you doing today? How many are you feeding?" A mop of blue hair concealed a face as the person grabbed menus. "Actually, we weren't looking to eat, we just were wondering if anybody here had seen our friends." Tai explained, as the mop of blue hair straightened up and revealed himself to be Joe. "Woah! It's Joe!" TK gasped and began clapping. "Tai! TK! Boy, is Matt gonna be glad to see you guys!" Joe exclaimed. "Is Matt here too?" Agumon asked. "Yep! Gomamon, can you go get Matt and Gabumon?" Joe asked his friend. "You betcha! Nice to see you guys!" Gomamon moved as fast as the little digimon could into the back room.

"TK!" Matt gasped as he saw his little brother. The two ran to each other and Matt wrapped him in a gigantic hug. "I'm so sorry that I didn't come back buddy… I was trapped here…" "It's okay big brother! I knew I'd find you eventually!" TK smiled and returned the hug. "I'm so glad you did… I was so worried about you." Matt stood up and looked Tai in the eye and nodded. "Thank you for taking care of him Tai." "Tai only got here today! Ms. Linzi was the one who helped me the most." TK told Matt. "Still, thank you Tai." Matt expressed his gratitude as Gabumon and Gomamon came out from the back room. "We've got a lot to catch up on Matt. Are you able to leave this place?" Tai asked.

"ABSOLUTELY NOT! THEY ARE TO STAY HERE UNTIL THEY WORK THEIR DEBT OFF!" Digitammamon roared and came barreling out of the kitchen. "Look, Digitammamon, we're really sorry, but we've paid for our food thousands of times over, and the majority of what's gone wrong has not been our fault. We've been nowhere near half of the stuff when it's happened and you've automatically placed the blame on us." Matt took charge, unwilling to compromise. "Are you saying that you're leaving no matter what?!" The digimon stepped closer to the group as a Vegiemon came out of the kitchen as well. "Yes, that's what I'm saying." Matt stood his ground. "Joe, Tai, TK, go outside. We're leaving." Matt turned his back and the group of eight left Digitammamon and Vegiemon standing in the diner.

"Move faster. Something tells me we're about to be stopped rather rudely." Gabumon hurried the group out into the clearing by the lake in front of Digitammamon's Diner. "We can't leave without Ms. Linzi!" TK told Matt, who nodded. "I don't know who Ms. Linzi is, but I want to meet her and thank her for helping you." He showed a remarkable amount of maturity. "YOU CAN'T LEAVE WITHOUT PAYING! GRAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Digitammamon came running out, with Vegiemon hot on his heels. "PREPARE TO BE DESTROYED!" The two digimon began charging at the group of eight. "BREAK!" Tai yelled as he and TK went one way and Matt and Joe went another. "GABUMON NOW!" Matt yelled while Tai nodded at Agumon. "GABUMON DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO GARURUMON!" Garurumon stood protectively in front of Matt.

"Agumon, you too!" "Go for it Gomamon!" Tai and Joe told their digimon to digivolve as well, but their plans were cut short. "HIYAH!" Vegiemon grabbed the two rookie level digimon and threw them on the ground, rendering them unable to fight. "Agumon, are you okay?" Tai picked up his partner as Joe did the same. "This one is mine!" Vegiemon proceeded to grab TK and ran behind Digitammamon. "TK!" Matt yelled as Garurumon began to attack Digitammamon.

"HOWLING BLASTER!" The attack seemed to strike Digitammamon at full power, but the egg-like digimon simply retreated into his shell and absorbed the attack without taking any damage. "Wait, what? The attack didn't hurt him at all!" Matt gasped. "IT'S MY TURN! NIGHTMARE SYNDROME!" A powerful blast of dark energy appeared where Digitammamon's mouth would be, and Digitammamon fired it at Garurumon. "HANG ON GARURUMON!" Matt yelled as the champion-level digimon took the hit, and fell to its knees. "Matt! Digitammamon is an ultimate level digimon, not a champion level digimon! He's too powerful for one digimon alone!" Patamon told the boy. "Oh no…" Matt's eyes widened as he saw Vegiemon tightening his hold on TK. "BETTER GIVE UP, OR THIS BOY GETS IT!" The champion-level digimon laughed evilly. "No… I won't give up! I CALL ON FRIENDSHIP!" Matt yelled, in hopes of Michael hearing him.

Michael, watching Luke treat Linzi's wounds, heard Matt's call. "Guys, they're in trouble. Matt wouldn't be calling on me if he didn't need the help. Chinchilmon, we've got to go to the forest near the lake and have you digivolve so you can help them." The duo began to run deeper into the forest, leaving Luke, Linzi, and their digimon to hear the events of the battle.

"CHINCHILMON DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO TRILEPTIMON!" Chinchilmon quickly digivolved and began running towards the Diner, and Michael headed back to the others. "There's my help…" Matt gasped as he saw Trileptimon, looking very similar to Garurumon, landing in front of Garurumon. "Garurumon, get up. We're going to distract this guy for a little bit." Trileptimon growled at Digitammamon. "ASTIRE SLASH!" The attack was again, nullified by Digitammamon retreating into his shell. "MATT! Go save TK!" Garurumon yelled as he stood up, legs shaking. "Got it!" Matt began to run towards Vegiemon.

"Not so fast!" DemiDevimon giggled and flew in front of Matt. "PEPPER BREATH!" Agumon's attack forced DemiDevimon to fly back up. "BOOM BUBBLE!" Patamon also charged at the evil digimon. "OKAY! MESSAGE RECEIVED! STAY AWAY!" The bat-like digimon flew away again, towards the mountains. "VEGIEMON, LET HIM GO!" Matt yelled. "Hmmm… How about… NO!" Vegiemon began to laugh again, and TK screamed again as Vegiemon tightened his hold again. "TK!" Matt yelled as he fell to his knees, unable to comprehend what was happening in front of him.

"HEY VEGIEMON! PICK ON SOMEONE YOUR OWN SIZE!" Joe, somehow standing on the roof, jumped down onto Vegiemon's arms, forcing him to let go of TK. "TK! JOE! MOVE!" Matt yelled as he looked up. TK made it to Tai and Agumon, but Joe was grabbed by Vegiemon, who held the boy in the same way that he held TK. "JOE! LET HIM GO, VEGIEMON!" Tai yelled. "NO! HE WILL DIE!" Vegiemon began to squeeze as tight as he could. "GAH!" Joe yelled in pain. "GARURUMON!" Matt heard his partner's pained roar and turned just in time to see his friend get hit by another Nightmare Syndrome from Digitammamon. "NO!" Matt turned inwards as everything seemed to slow down around him.

'Joe… I was wrong! I WAS WRONG ABOUT YOU! YOU DIDN'T WANT TO KEEP US THERE FOREVER! I WAS WRONG TO YELL AT YOU, AND TREAT YOU CRUELLY! I'M SORRY! PLEASE! JOE, GARURUMON, MY FRIENDS!' Time seemed to speed up again, and Matt yelled in desperation. "GARURUMON! MY FRIENDS!" As he yelled this, his Crest began to glow, along with Garurumon. "It's a digivolution!" Tai gasped as TK celebrated. "ALRIGHT! LET'S GO GARURUMON!" Matt cheered.

"GARURUMON!" The four-legged wolf-like creature stood up on his hind legs and a pair of tattered blue jeans appeared, with leather pads appearing over his kneecaps. A pair of fingerless gloves appeared on both of his hands, while on the left arm, a protective layer of dark blue mesh appeared. "DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" His left shoulder became encased in a brown, metallic looking-sphere that created a leather strap that crossed his torso diagonally to reach the top of his jeans. A pair of shin guards with metal spikes also appeared, while a metal chain wrapped itself around his right forearm. "WEREGARURUMON!"

The newly digivolved Ultimate digimon growled at Digitammamon. "THERE WE GO!" Matt cheered as Trileptimon stepped to the side, letting Weregarurumon take center stage. "GRAH! YOU STILL WILL NOT ESCAPE!" Digitammamon growled. "That's what you think." Weregarurumon stood in front of Digitammamon, towering over the egg-like digimon ominously. "This is what you get for hurting my friend. WOLF CLAW!" Weregarurumon's fists began to glow, and he began slashing Digitammamon rapidly, causing the digimon to cry out in pain. "Weregarurumon!" Matt called, and the digimon nodded. "GARURU KICK!" Weregarurumon used his powerful legs to kick Digitammamon like a soccer ball far off into the distance, where they heard a large crash.

Weregarurumon shined a bright yellow light, and dedigivolved all the way down to Tsunomon. "Hey little guy! Are you alright?" Matt picked up his partner and hugged him. "Yeah! I'm alright, I'm just really tired and really hungry!" Tsunomon quietly said and snuggled into Matt's arms. "Vegiemon, are you going to let Joe go, or am I going to have to make you?" Trileptimon snarled at the digimon. "Um... AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" The digimon dropped Joe roughly and ran screaming into the forest. "That takes care of him." Tai laughed. TK stared at Trileptimon, looking at him very closely.

"Trileptimon, right?" He asked quizzically. Trileptimon also shined a bright yellow light and dedigivolved into Chinchilmon. "Actually, it's Chinchilmon!" Chinchilmon laughed and called into the forest. "You can come out now guys!" The group standing in front of the diner turned to the forest and watched as Michael, Luke, Linzi, Ravenmon, and Nubaxiemon walked into the clearing. "You?" Joe gasped as he recognized Luke. "Weeeee have a bit of explaining to do. Let's start walking, and we'll explain the best we can." Michael smiled sheepishly, and Matt laughed, starting a laughter chain throughout the entire group.

With half of the group reunited, their journey will only get harder and harder from here! While Matt has conquered his demons, there are even more challenges waiting ahead for the group!


	25. The Split Path!

Disclaimer! I own only my OCs and potentially a few of the OC digimon. Everything else is owned by Saban Brands.

Hope you all enjoy and don't forget to review!

Short A/N: HI GUYS! This chapter was a genuine struggle to right simply because of technical difficulties. I've been unable to get to my compute for a few days, and my keyboard is acting up, so if there are more typos than usual, that's why.

Try Chapter 25

The group of seven and their digimon were walking towards the large mountain ranges far away from Digitammamon's Diner as they began talking. "Where do we start?" Luke asked, laughing quietly. "When did you and your friends first begin to follow us?" Tai started the questioning off. "We had been in the digital world for about a week or so before we were able to leave the island we had found ourselves on. That was when Gennai contacted us and told us to come to his house so he could tell us about you." Linzi dodged a small boulder laying by the side of the path. "Was that island called File Island?" TK asked as Nubaxiemon shook her head. "We don't know, but Devimon wasn't there, so I'd assume that it wasn't File Island." "How do you know about Devimon?" Matt asked, and Michael gave a quick answer. "Gennai told us all about your adventures on File Island. You guys were all so brave."

"What about your island? What was it like there?" Joe decided to ask them about the first part of their journey. "We unfortunately were put on an island that had a Dark Antylamon that basically was following us nonstop and kept attacking us with digimon he controlled through Dark Strips." Ravenmon piped up. "Thankfully though, our friend, Tiffany, was able to beat him with the help of her digimon partner and the good Antylamon." Chinchilmon climbed up onto Michael's head. "Where's Tiffany now? Tsunomon asked, looking around. "She's with your friend Mimi, I think, just watching to make sure that she's safe." Linzi explained. "In fact, I believe that our friends Ally and Jacob are following Sora and Izzy respectively to make sure that they're safe." She thought for a moment and nodded confidently.

"That's nice and all, but where were you when we were fighting Etemon? We could've used six more digimon." Joe adjusted his glasses as Matt stared blankly at the boy. "Joe! We should be thankful that they're helping us now!" Gomamon chastised Joe. "No, no, it's okay." Michael laughed. "We were under strict orders from Gennai that we should only reveal ourselves if you guys were in extreme danger, such as when TK was gonna be hit by that stray attack during the fight with Etemon." Michael explained. "I'm sure TK remembers, but Torpedomon and I created a large dust cloud right before the attack hit so I could get in there and move him to safety." Linzi explained. "Also, that fight with Tyrannomon? That was Chinchilmon's champion form that helped out." Luke chimed in. "Prairiemon as well. Jacob's partner chimed in there too." Nubaxiemon added. "So you guys really have been helping us out throughout Server!" Tai exclaimed.

"That's right! But now, we've got to find the rest of our groups so we can hopefully get home!" Linzi smiled. "According to our digivices, it looks like Mimi and Tiffany are far over that way, while Izzy and Jacob are farther into the mountains." Michael looked up at the rest of the group. "There's only one path for a while though, so let's stay together for now. It seems like the smartest decision right now." Agumon stated, and Tsunomon nodded. "That's right. We have a better chance of fighting off any evil digimon in a large group." The reptilian digimon stopped his partner from arguing with Tai over the issue. "That's right. So we might as well keep going until it becomes nighttime." Michael smiled at Matt, who offered a slight smile in return.

"Speaking of that, it's already starting to get dark. Do we want to find a good place to camp out for tonight?" Ravenmon asked. "It certainly wouldn't hurt to get some food either." Gomamon looked up at Joe, who saw right through Gomamon. "If the rest of you guys are hungry, we can stop." The holder of the Crest of Reliability laughed at his partner. "Let's go ahead and stop. There is a grove of trees right over there that should have some food." Patamon pointed off of the road. "Yay! Let's go!" TK gave a huge smile and began running down the hill while the others followed behind him.

"Matt, you, Tsunomon, Michael, Chinchilmon, Joe, and Gomamon are in charge of getting firewood." Linzi told Matt as he shrugged. "That's all good." Michael smiled and glanced knowingly at Matt, who sighed. "Tai, Agumon, TK, Patamon, Nubaxiemon, and I will be going out and getting food, which leaves you here to watch camp and start a fire with the wood that Matt's group brings back, okay Luke?" Linzi delegated out roles quickly. "That's good with me. Let's get to work guys!" Luke exclaimed and the three groups split up.

"Hey Patamon, can you reach that big group of fruit up there?" TK asked his partner. "Sure can TK! BOOM BUBBLE!" The puff of air knocked the fruit out of the tree and into TK's arms, which were quickly filling up with fruit. "Do you think you can digivolve into Torpedomon, Nubaxiemon?" Linzi asked her partner, staring up at another high-placed cluster of fruit. "It won't hurt to try!" Nubaxiemon smiled cheerfully and began to shine brightly. "NUBAXIEMON DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO TORPEDOMON!" Linzi's partner was back in her rookie form when the light faded, and she immediately spotted the bunch of fruit that Linzi had seen. "HORN BLASTER!" Torpedomon knocked the fruit off f the branch, causing the fruit to land on her horn once again. "OW!" She yipped as Tai and Linzi struggled to contain their laughter. "That happens every time." Linzi explained as Agumon handed another piece of fruit to Tai.

Michael, Joe, Matt and their partners headed deeper into the trees to find firewood. "I want to thank you for helping us out at Digitammamon's Diner." Matt stared at the ground as he thanked Michael. "Hey, I told you that I'd help you whenever possible, and that still stands." Michael chuckled while Chinchilmon jumped on Matt's head, startling the younger boy. "I think you need to apologize to someone though." Michael nodded in Joe's direction, and Matt sighed. "Yeah… You're right…" Matt pulled Chinchilmon off of his head and began walking towards the other boy. "It was inevitable." Michael shrugged when he got a strange look from Chinchilmon. "I'd rather it be now when it's peaceful rather than in a dangerous situation." Michael stated simply. "True true. I hope it works out." Chinchilmon returned his attention to gathering firewood.

"Hey… Joe?" Matt awkwardly walked up to the other boy. "Hey Matt. What's up?" Joe smiled at him. "I just wanted to apologize for yelling at you at Digitammamon's Diner. I should've known that you wouldn't keep us there on purpose, and I know you were trying your hardest." Matt quickly said what he needed to say. "Matt, don't worry about it." Joe smiled. "I hurt you though, how can I not worry about it?" Matt asked, confused. "You don't have full control of yourself when you're angry and tired. It's okay, Matt, trust me." Joe laughed softly and went back to collecting firewood. "I mean, if you're sure…" Matt shrugged. "Of course I'm sure." Joe told him confidently. Matt smiled and went back to collecting firewood.

"That went well." Michael whispered to Chinchilmon as the two picked up the collection of firewood that they had. "Joe! Matt! We're gonna head back!" He told the other two and their digimon. "We'll be right behind!" Gomamon told them cheerfully. "Let's go." Chinchilmon jumped on Michael's shoulder, barely managing to hold onto the twigs that he had. "Be careful now, we don't want you falling on your face." Michael gently chided the digimon, who giggled.

Luke sat down as he began to build the beginnings of their fire with the wood that was nearby. "Hey, Ravenmon?" He asked, looking around for his partner. "Yeah Luke?" The bird digimon landed near Luke. "Back at Digitammamon's Diner, when Linzi was talking about DemiDevimon, you acted like you knew him." Luke stated plainly and Ravenmon began to squawk. "Calm down, calm down. I just want to know how you know him." Luke picked up his partner, who calmed down slightly. "Well, it's kind of a long story…" Ravenmon tried to avoid answering. "We all know that I've got time." Luke shot him down. Ravenmon sighed and began to explain.

"When I was Windomon, my in-training form, and when I didn't live on Dark Antylamon's island, I wandered the world, just trying to see what my purpose in life was…" Ravenmon settled into Luke's arm. "Along the way, probably a few months before I managed to get to Dark Antylamon's Island, I met DemiDevimon, except I didn't know that he was an evil digimon." "Oh, I see." Luke commented, watching the trees for any movement. "So, he saw that I was lost and lonely, and he took me to see his master…" Ravenmon shuddered. "Hey, it's okay. Neither of them are anywhere near here." Luke gave his partner a hug and held him in a hug.

"His master's name… Was Myotismon…" Ravenmon croaked out, barely able to talk out of fear. "He's the most evil digimon on the continent of Server right now, even more than Etemon ever was." Ravenmon shuddered, and Luke attempted to soothe his partner. "He's not here though. We would know if he was, so you're safe right now, Ravenmon." Ravenmon seemed to muster up enough courage to continue. "Myotismon wasn't kind to his subordinates. I only stayed for a week, but I nearly died every day… He didn't feed us much, and expected the in-trainings to keep up with the champions…" Ravenmon shuddered again and seemed to shrink. "How did you escape?" Luke asked, trying to keep Ravenmon's mind off of what happened.

"It was only because of a kind digimon… Named Gatomon…" Ravenmon teared up slightly. "She was my best friend in that place… She made sure I ate enough, and survived each day I was there." Luke nodded. "She sounds like a wonderful digimon." "After about a week of me being there, Gatomon… She… She showed me and a few other digimon an escape route that we used to leave the place… But Myotismon caught her right as she was about to leave… I don't know what happened to her, but I'd be shocked if she survived." Ravenmon began to shake. "Hey now, we've got to keep up hope that she's still alive, because we can save her if she is." Luke smiled gently at his friend. However, a sudden movement in the corner of his eye caught his attention. "Hey, Ravenmon? I think we've got company." He stood up, and Ravenmon flew up as well. "Are you okay?" Luke glanced worriedly at Ravenmon. "I can't do anything about the past, so I have to be." Ravenmon replied, having shook off his fear and sadness. "Please don't hold it inside though. I'm your friend, and I'll always be here for you." Ravenmon landed on Luke's shoulder as the teen smiled at Ravenmon.

"WATCH OUT!" Ravenmon forced Luke to duck as a knife sliced right through where Luke's head had been. "WHOA!" Luke gasped as he rolled to the side, avoiding another knife. "Ravenmon!" "On it! FIRE SPRAY!" The fiery attack hit something, causing the digimon to stumble into the open. "Wait, Sealsdramon?" Ravenmon looked around, suddenly confused. "What is a Sealsdramon?" Luke's eyes widened as he looked into the trees. "Sealsdramon is a champion-level digimon that works as a mercenary assassin typically. However, they normally travel in a platoon, which means that there are a lot more in those trees…" Ravenmon realized right as Luke yelled. "DUCK!" He pulled the two of them to the ground as another Sealsdramon jumped out of the trees, followed by five others. "Well, we've got quite a fight ahead of us, don't we?" Ravenmon asked and Luke nodded, standing up. "Let's get to work." "RAVENMON DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO TOUCAMON!" The toucan-digimon launched himself into battle as Luke looked around for any potential weapons.

"Wait, what's that noise?" Tai asked as he, Linzi, TK, and their digimon were heading back with the food. "It's Toucamon, Ravenmon's champion form! Luke's in trouble!" Torpedomon piped up as the group began to run to the clearing. "Linzi, you should hang back just in case DemiDevimon is behind this." Tai told the girl, who nodded. "TK, Tai, Agumon, Patamon, you guys be careful, okay? Call for me, and Meermaimon will make a reappearance." Linzi told the four. TK smiled cheerfully. "It'll be okay Ms. Linzi! We'll be right back!" The little boy promised as Linzi giggled at being called Ms again.

"Matt! Joe!" Michael ran back to the duo. "What's up?" Matt asked the concerned teen. "Luke's in trouble back at the campsite. We need all the help we can get." "Tsunomon!" Matt called to his partner. "TSUNOMON DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO GABUMON!" The in-training digimon quickly digivolved to his rookie form, and the group headed back to camp as well. "Michael, stay back when we get to the clearing. We'll call if we need you." Joe stopped the teen before he could run into the clearing. "Are you sure? Trileptimon could be a big help." Michael looked at the two, concerned. "Yeah, we'll be okay." Matt assured him, smiling. "Alrighty. Holler if you need me." Michael picked up Chinchilmon and stayed behind a bit, watching the two run into the clearing, and seeing Tai and TK do the same out of the corner of his eye.

"HIYAH!" Luke jumped back and dodged another Sealsdramon. "TOUCAMON! How are you doing up there?" He glanced up at his partner, who was flying around, decimating four Sealsdramon. "WATCH OUT!" Toucamon swooped down and picked Luke up by the back of his shirt, lifting him out of the air right as another digimon burst onto the scene.

"GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" The orange digimon punched the ground, creating a shockwave that blasted the Sealsdramon backwards and into the forest, turning them into data particles. "What is that?!" Luke gasped. "That's Cyclonemon, a champion level digimon defeated by Leomon that's been driven crazy in his desire for revenge! His right arm was strengthened and enlarged in his desire for revenge, meaning that he basically has the power of an Ultimate digimon!" Toucamon flipped Luke up onto his back. "So what you're saying is that we're in big trouble now?" Luke asked. "Not necessarily." Toucamon pointed to Tai, Matt, Joe, and TK, who had just ran into the clearing. "GUYS! WATCH OUT! THAT THING IS DANGEROUS!" Luke yelled down to them.

"ARM BOMBER!" Cyclonemon summoned fire in his right arm and threw it at Toucamon, who was forced to dive to the ground to avoid the attack. "Luke, get into the forest, along with you guys. Digimon, you need to digivolve now." Toucamon flew up into the air again as the rest of the rookie digimon prepared themselves. "GOMAMON DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO IKKAKUMON!" "AGUMON DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO GREYMON!" "GABUMON DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO GARURUMON!" "PATAMON DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO ANGEMON!" Luke, Tai, Matt, Joe, and TK ran into the trees to watch the battle as Michael and Linzi met up and began to watch as well.

"Is that Angemon TK's partner?" Linzi asked, and Michael shrugged. "Your best guess is mine as well."

As powerful as Cyclonemon was, it soon became clear that the five to one battle was one-sided in the Digidestined's favor. "HYPER HEAT!" Cyclonemon attempted another attack, but was immediately shot down. "HAND OF FATE!" Angemon stopped the attack, while Ikkakumon launched off a Harpoon Torpedomon that struck Cyclonemon, sending him into the air. "GRAH!" The digimon appeared to float in the air for a moment before being struck by another digimon. "What was that?!" Greymon growled, watching the floating Cyclonemon. "I'm not sure, but Cyclonemon is flying away!" Garurumon growled in surprise as the powerful digimon was shot into the far mountains. "That's one digimon toasted, with a lot more to go." Toucamon quipped before looking around for the Sealsdramon.

"Wait, where did the Sealsdramon go?" He wondered as Luke walked out of the forest. "Didn't you see? Cyclonemon destroyed them." He explained. "Oh, so then everything's alright now." The five digimon dedigivolved into their rookie forms as Michael, Linzi, and their partners walked out of the forest. "That was too strange… We should eat up and get some sleep though. It's late now." Michael sighed and picked up the fruit on the ground before taking a bite of it. "It's still fresh!" Chinchilmon exclaimed, watching the group dig in. "Bon appetite!" Gomamon declared before stuffing his face as the group burst into laughter.

After the fruit was gone, the group began talking again. "What are we going to do about watches and all that?" Agumon asked. "Don't worry about that. Let the older people take care of that while you guys get some real sleep. I'm sure you probably haven't had too much of that recently." Luke smiled and Michael nodded. "Linzi, I'll take third if you want to take first." Chinchilmon opened his mouth to protest, but quickly shut it when Michael stuffed the last piece of fruit in his mouth. "That's fine with me, and you'll have second watch Luke." Linzi smiled and the younger digidestined settled down to sleep while Linzi, Michael, and Luke stayed up talking.

"We need to watch out for that Cyclonemon once we start walking." Michael whispered, keeping his voice low so the others could sleep. "Yep, and look for any other unnatural flying digimon." Linzi nodded. "While we're at it, when the path branches and there are digidestined at the end of both paths, what's the general plan?" Luke asked. "We'll probably split up." Torpedomon offered helpfully. "We know that, but who will go with who?" Chinchilmon asked. "Luke and I should probably go with Matt and Joe, while you go with Tai and TK, Linzi." Michael reasoned. "I don't think Matt will like leaving TK again." Ravenmon reminded him. "Okay, but it makes the most sense. We want both groups to have two Ultimate level digimon, and I think we can agree that MetalGreymon is the strongest digimon we have, so going with the smaller group is a better idea. Plus, Matt would be overprotective of TK and potentially get himself hurt as well." Linzi backed Michael up.

"True true. I guess it makes sense." Luke agreed, and yawned. "Linzi, wake me up in a little bit when it's time for my watch. I'm gonna get some shuteye." The older teen walked over to their little fire and lay down next to it. "You gonna get some sleep too?" She asked Michael, who was staring at the sky. "Maybe." He lay down as well, not bothering to close his eyes. "When you do, know that it'll be Luke to wake you up, okay?" Linzi told the boy, who nodded. "Yep. Chinchilmon, get some sleep." The little digimon curled up in a ball next to Michael, who attempted to relax while Linzi and Torpedomon looked out over the makeshift camp. "Let's hope we can do our job and get these kiddos home." She whispered to Torpedomon. "We can only do the best that we've got." Torpedomon replied. "And we'll always give that." She finished, as the moon shined over them.

THE NEXT MORNING

"Good morning everyone!" Michael smiled cheerfully as their camp slowly woke up with the sun. "We've got a long day of travel, so try to get up quickly so we can get some food." Chinchilmon added, gaining the attention of the digimon. "It's buffet style!" Michael stepped to the side and pointed at the pile of food that he and Chinchilmon had gathered. "FOOOOOOOOOOD!" Agumon and Tai yelled and dived headfirst into the pile. "Hold up now, let's make sure everyone gets some." Luke pulled the duo out, blinking slowly to let his eyes adjust to the sun. "Fine… Everybody! WAKE UP! FOOD'S HERE AND WE CAN EAT!" Tai yelled, waking the rest of the group up. "Food is never something that I'll say no to." Gomamon hopped up to the pile and grabbed a piece of fruit, chomping down. The rest of the group slowly got up and ate their breakfast, leaving a significantly smaller pile of fruit lying on the ground.

"Good to know that you guys enjoyed it." Michael laughed. "Let's get going then, shall we?" Linzi pointed towards the road, scuffed up from the fight with the Sealsdramon and Cyclonemon. "Might as well." Matt led the group with Gabumon, TK, and Patamon right behind him as they continued on the path towards the mountains. "They're separating a lot." Luke whispered to Michael, pointing to the blinking dots on his digivice. "There's probably a split in the path soon then." Michael looked ahead, squinting to see if he could see any signs of two paths. "I'm not seeing anything right now, so let's just keep walking for a while until there are two paths." Linzi told the two. "It's not going to hurt us to stay together for a little bit."

"Hey guys!" Matt pulled ahead of the group to check if he was seeing it right. "The split in the path is up here!" Gabumon slowed to a stop and nodded. "Well that's good news at least. We know we're getting closer then." Joe smiled and adjusted his glasses. "Who are we going after first?" TK asked. "About that…" Michael stopped the little boy. "It would be better for us to split up again, so we can get out of here faster." Luke explained. "Mimi is to the right, while Izzy is to the left. The left path looks way more dangerous than the right path, so four of us should go that way, and the other three should take the right path." Tai used his brain and Matt nodded in agreement, surprising the others. "TK, I want you and Tai to take the right path." Matt kneeled down to TK, giving the boy a hug.

"But Matt, I don't wanna leave you again…" TK sniffled. "Hey buddy, I promise this time that I'll be back as soon as I possibly can, but I can't risk you being hurt." Matt tightened his hug as TK began to bawl. Linzi glanced at Michael and Luke and nodded. "TK, I'll go with you and Tai, okay? We'll make it an adventure to go find Mimi!" Matt stood up and let Linzi take TK's hand. "Thank you, Linzi." He gave the girl a hug, surprising her for a moment. "It's not a problem, Matt. I know what it's like to be the older sibling." Linzi smiled and Matt walked back to Joe, Luke, and Michael. "I guess then us four will go this way." Michael gestured, and Joe nodded. "If you guys ever run into trouble, send us a signal on your digivices and we'll come as fast as we can." Luke directed his words at Tai and Linzi, who was still trying to console the distraught TK. "And remember, each group has two ultimate digimon, who don't be afraid to digivolve to that level if you need to."

"Please, be careful guys." Linzi looked Michael and Luke in the eyes as she gave them hugs. "We'll do our best to keep these dorks safe." Michael laughed and squeezed her hand. "Linzi, we'll be back as soon as we get Jacob and Izzy, okay? I promise." Luke nodded and Torpedomon stared at Ravenmon and Chinchilmon. "If they have a scratch on them and nothing else, I will digivolve and give both of you a solid beating that you won't forget." The aquatic digimon growled, but dissolved into laughter as Chinchilmon and Ravenmon backed up and fell on their backs. "Now, be nice Torpedomon. We'll only hurt them a little bit." Linzi laughed as she took TK's hand. "Let's go Tai, Patamon, Agumon." They began walking down the right path. Matt watched the back of their heads until they disappeared into the forest.

"Matt, it'll be okay. Linzi and Tai protected TK before, so have faith that they can do so again." Gabumon tried to reassure his friend. "I know, but I hate that to keep him out of danger, I have to leave him. It's incredibly ironic, because up to this point, I've done my best to protect him by being near him." Matt sighed and began to walk on the left path. "Let's go guys." Joe caught up to Matt and Gomamon followed. "Well, let's see where this takes us…" Ravenmon flew up and began flying overhead while Chinchilmon hopped on Michael's shoulder. The entire group was oblivious to the tiny machine following them.

As the group splits up again, they go to search for Mimi and Izzy, along with Tiffany and Jacob! They have four Ultimates on their side, but Myotismon's strength grows as well, creating dangerous situations for both groups! It'll take every last bit of their strength to leave the Digital World now…


	26. Reunited and It Feels so Good! Part 1

Disclaimer! I own only my OCs and potentially a few of the OC digimon. Everything else is owned by Saban Brands.

Hope you all enjoy and don't forget to review!

Try Chapter 26

A/N: Yes, creative liberties were used rather extensively in the making of this story, especially in this chapter.

Tai ducked underneath a series of spiderwebs that were strung across the path of the forest. "Are you sure that the digivice is saying that Mimi came here?" He asked Linzi. "Yep! It says the Crest of Sincerity is this way." Linzi confirmed. "She would never go this way of her own free will." Agumon chimed in, knocked down some of the webs so Linzi could walk through without having to duck uncomfortably low. "You can say that again." Patamon nodded, looking around through the fog. "It had to have been Palmon who got her to go through the woods." TK giggled as he walked under the webs.

"I think I can see a light up ahead!" Linzi gasped and the group sped up. "Be careful here. We don't know what lies out of the forest." Agumon stepped in front of the group while Torpedomon fell back to protect them from anything attacking from the back. "Look!" TK pointed to the side and the group saw a quick flash of green and yellow fly through the trees and jump out in front of them. "STOP! Who goes there?!" The digimon tried to appear threatening, but failed. "Oh, that's just Geckomon! He's a rookie-level digimon who normally travels with a digimon called Otammamon. He's harmless." Patamon cheerfully told the group. "What business do you have, passing through these woods?" Geckomon asked again. "Well… We're looking for our friend, Mimi, and we have pretty solid proof that she's through these woods." Tai spoke up for the group. "Princess Mimi? Are you her friends?" Geckomon gasped. "Princess?" Linzi asked. "That sounds like her." Agumon laughed. "Please, come this way. We'll take you to her right away!" An Otammamon hopped out of the woods and led the group through the rest of the woods.

"That is ShogunGeckomon's Castle, where Princess Mimi is preparing right now." Otammamon nodded towards the gigantic castle. "What is she preparing for right now?" TK asked, confused. "She is preparing to wake our King up, ShogunGeckomon, by singing to him." Otammamon began to move towards the castle while Agumon and Tai exchanged glances. "She is the chosen one of our prophecy. The legends tell of a girl with an angelic voice who will come to our castle and awaken our King, who was put to sleep many centuries ago. We patrol these woods looking for that angelic voice, but now we just guard it, because we found her." Another Geckomon came up alongside the group and explained. "What will happen to her after she wakes him up?" Linzi asked, expecting a not very pleasant answer. "As his first meal, ShogunGeckomon will eat the sacrifice." Otammamon giggled. "However the majority of us at the castle really don't want her to be eaten… Which is why we're stalling so long to prevent her from singing…" The Geckomon looked down. "Then we've got to hurry! We can't let her be eaten!" TK gasped and began to run ahead.

"TK! Wait up!" Patamon followed his friend. "GUYS! WAIT!" Linzi, remembering Matt, followed the duo with Torpedomon, Tai, and Agumon hot on her heels. "Oh no! They can't be allowed to enter the castle by themselves!" Geckomon and Otammamon began to run towards the castle as well. "TK! SLOW DOWN!" Patamon yelled to his partner, who came to a sudden stop, causing Patamon to barrel into the boy. "Ouchie!" TK picked Patamon up off of the ground and rubbed his arm. "You gotta be careful Patamon." TK giggled as the rest of the group caught up to him. "TK, are you okay?" Tai put his hand on TK's shoulder. "Yeah, I'm fine." TK smiled. "You must be careful. The Geckomon and Otammamon won't let you into the castle in the normal way." Geckomon pointed to the front entrance. "It's guarded heavily, so you'll have to get in another way." Otammamon jumped onto a rock. "How else will we get in?" Linzi asked. "Follow us!" Geckomon began walking towards the back of the castle.

"You can't expect us to dress as servants in order to get in." Tai crossed his arms. "No, we don't. This is just another way for you to get in." Geckomon laughed quietly as he opened the Servant's door. "Good luck getting her to leave. We want the King back as much as any mon, but she isn't the one." Otammamon and Geckomon began to walk towards the forest and their posts.

"Now, if I were a girl pretending to be a Princess, where would I be?" Linzi wondered as she stuck her head around a corner and pulled it back. "Kitchen's that way. She wouldn't be in there." She told the group. "Let's go up a few floors, I'm sure she's high up." Tai pointed to the stairs that led upwards. "We have to be quiet though." Agumon nodded and Torpedomon began to climb up the stairs. However, the group was stopped by a quiet voice cutting through the air. "May I help you with anything, Misters and Miss?" Linzi turned around and saw a human girl standing by the doorway with another digimon standing next to her. Linzi gasped and smiled.

"Tiffany!" She ran to the older girl and hugged her tightly. "Hi Linzi! It's nice to see you guys." She smiled and Azuremon, the digimon at her side, began talking quickly to Torpedomon. "It's nice to see that you found Tai, and TK, but where are the others?" Tiffany asked. "It's a long story. Let's start heading up the stairs and I'll see if I can explain." Linzi dragged Tiffany and Azuremon to Tai and TK. "Boys, this is Tiffany. She's the oldest of my group of friends and probably, I'd say at least, our leader." "You're the angel-woman who helped me at Etemon's pyramid…" Tai realized with a gasp. "Thank you for saving my life." He hugged the girl and Tiffany laughed. "You needed the help, and I'm never one to turn away anybody who needs my help." Turning her attention back to Linzi, she stopped the girl from going up the stairs. "There's a better way of getting around the castle, plus we can talk in there. Follow me." Tiffany led the group into the kitchen, where she moved a tile from the floor and opened up a passageway. "There are only two floors to the castle because there's a series of passageways underneath each floor that let some of us get around quickly and quietly without being seen. It's really been helpful whenever I've needed to talk with Mimi." Tiffany explained.

"Alright, now spill, Linzi." Linzi laughed and began to explain. "After you left, Matt and TK here stayed together for a few more weeks until Matt decided to go look for the others. He left TK at an Amusement Park, where a digimon called DemiDevimon tried to hurt him. That's where I stepped in, since Michael followed Matt. I drove off DemiDevimon, and with Tai's help defeated an evil digimon called Vikaralamon who wanted to kill us all. Torpedomon digivolved into her Ultimate form and defeated that digimon." Linzi monologued. "Wow! That's a lot to happen to you guys." Tiffany's eyes widened. "What happened after that to bring you here?" Azuremon prodded. "I'm getting there." Linzi laughed.

"After that, we followed a lake near the amusement park to try to find Matt, and found he and Joe trapped at a Diner belonging to Digitammamon. He tried to keep Matt and Joe there forever, but with help from Michael and Joe, Matt managed to digivolve Gabumon to his Ultimate form and beat Digitammamon. After that, Luke showed up, and we all spent the next few days following the signal on our digivices to look for Izzy and Mimi. Eventually we had to split up because the two signals split up as well, so Michael, Luke, Matt, and Joe are looking for Izzy and Jacob, while Tai, TK, and I went looking for you and Mimi." Linzi took a deep breath. "That's a lot of stuff to take in. Fortunately, this is the door to Mimi's chambers." Azuremon pointed to a door on the wall. "Thanks guys!" Tai smiled at Tiffany and Azuremon.

"I should probably wait here, because Mimi doesn't know me." Linzi realized. "Are you sure Linzi?" TK asked. "Yeah, she knows you guys better and she's more likely to take the news better from you rather than someone she's never met." Torpedomon laughed quietly. "Well, here goes nothing then." Agumon pulled open the door while Linzi and Torpedomon ducked behind another arch to stay out of sight. "Good luck guys." Tiffany closed the door behind Tai, TK, Agumon, and Patamon as they entered the room.

"Alright Linzi, what really happened on the way here? You gave the abridged version." Tiffany stared the girl down as she blushed. "On the mountain on our way here, we ran into a Cyclonemon and a platoon of Sealsdramon, and they were NOT happy." Torpedomon spoke quietly. "Cyclonemon AND Sealsdramon?" Azuremon gasped. "What digimon are those, Azuremon?" Tiffany asked, confused. "Cyclonemon and Sealsdramon are both champion-level digimon, but their strength levels differ greatly. Cyclonemon is a genuine powerhouse that is incredibly dangerous. It has the strength of an Ultimate." Azuremon paled as he realized something. "What is it?" Linzi asked. "Cyclonemon never willingly gives up an opponent. Did one of you defeat it?" Azuremon asked Torpedomon. "Well, Toucamon, Greymon, Angemon, Garurumon, and Ikkakumon were fighting it off when a strange power just took it away, so we don't know what happened to it." The marine digimon replied in the negative. "That's not good. Nothing can be done of it for now though, I guess." Azuremon shrugged.

"Anyways, you said there were Sealsdramon too?" "Yeah. They attacked Luke out of nowhere, but they were destroyed by Cyclonemon before anything else could happen." Linzi told Azuremon. "We've got to be really careful now then, because that Cyclonemon could pop up at any moment." Azuremon cringed as he heard yelling from Mimi's chambers. "Something tells me that she's not taking the news well." "I would have to agree." Tiffany opened the door and stuck her head in.

"Is there something wrong, Princess Mimi?" Tiffany bowed her head and looked at the ground. "SERVANT! Remove these people from the castle at once!" Mimi shrieked as Palmon nodded. "Mimi, please! You've got to listen to us!" Tai yelled as Azuremon picked him up. "Geckomon, Otammamon. The Princess Mimi declares that these four be thrown out of the castle." Tiffany called for more Geckomon and Otammamon as TK, Patamon, and Agumon were picked up by more digimon and relocated.

"Princess Mimi, is there anything else you wish for before you practice?" Tiffany bowed again. "No servant, I am content." Mimi relaxed on her large bed. "You are dismissed." Palmon waved Tiffany off as the girl returned to Linzi and Torpedomon, closing the door behind her. "It sounds like that went less than ideal. Let's go grab those guys again and meet them by the servant door." She stood up straight and began quickly moving down the passageways. "Knowing Tai, he probably said something that upset her…" Linzi frowned. "I'm going to need to teach him about this thing called subtlety." Tiffany sighed. "Azuremon, are they outside?" Tiffany asked her partner as the digimon sped towards them. "Yes. They're under strict orders to not enter the castle again, otherwise they'll be killed." He frowned. "Not my choice, but the Geckomon and Otammamon take their jobs very seriously."

"Um… So what do we do?" Torpedomon asked. "Well, we need to get you guys to our personal quarters so we can sleep. It's getting late." Tiffany pointed to a window in the wall that showed the night sky. "Tai, TK, please be safe and stay near here… I'll be out as soon as I can be." Linzi murmured. "Don't worry about them. There are no dangerous digimon other than ShogunGeckomon that live here." Azuremon reassured the girl. "I just hope they don't wander off. I don't think Matt would forgive me if I lost them." Linzi took a step forward and nearly fell down a hole. "Woah!" She covered her mouth as Tiffany and Azuremon caught her. "Be careful. We're going to have to get that patched up." Tiffany frowned. "It can wait till the morning. The nighttime servants are adept at traversing the hallways." Azuremon waved off her concerns.

Sora and Ally breathed a sigh of relief as the girls and Azuremon passed over their heads. "That was a close one." Biyomon whispered. "We've got to get to Mimi's chambers while she sleeps, okay?" Kangamon pointed to the crude map she held. "Got it. The coast looks clear to me." Ally pulled herself out of the hole and reached her hand out for Sora to pull her out. "Up you go!" Biyomon flew out of the hole after Sora while Kangamon jumped up. "Let's be careful now. We don't know what could happen here, and we can't be caught." Sora whispered as she began walking towards the hidden door to Mimi's chambers. "You know, Night Patrol is so boring sometimes! Nothing ever gets past the external guards, so it's pointless!" Ally gasped as she heard a Geckomon talking to an Otammamon coming up behind them. "The pillars." She whispered intensely and the quartet hid themselves in the shadows of the pillars, hoping that the digimon wouldn't find them.

"Let's go…" Ally peeked her head out and saw that the coast was clear. "Biyomon, open the door please." Biyomon brandished a set of keys that she had nicked from one of the guards earlier and opened the door to reveal a sound-asleep Mimi and Palmon lying spread-eagle on the massive bed.

Mimi opened her eyes and saw a bright blue sky above her. "Huh? Where am I?" She wondered as she stood up. "Palmon? Are you here?" Her partner slowly woke up from where she lay right next to Mimi. "Where are we Mimi?" Palmon, eyes wide open with confusion, asked. "I'm not sure Palmon… This isn't the Geckomon castle for sure though." Mimi noticed the distinct lack of gray color. "What's that over there?" Palmon pointed in the distance. "Let's go check it out…" Mimi reluctantly suggested.

"Mimi." Sora spoke quietly to Mimi in her dream. "Sora? Is that you? Oh, Sora, I've missed you so much!" Mimi giggled. "I've missed you too Mimi, but that's not why I'm here tonight." Sora said. "Why are you here then?" Palmon asked. "We're here to tell you that everything Tai and TK told you is true, Mimi and Palmon. You will die if you stay here for much longer." Biyomon ominously stated. "What?! It can't be true though… They've treated me with such kindness and hospitality…" Mimi protested. "It may seem like that, but in reality, you're lying to both them and yourself. You're lying to yourself because you're saying that ShogunGeckomon won't kill you." Biyomon pointed out gently. "And you're lying to them because you say that you'll sing, but you haven't yet, and you've been here for many months." Sora smiled sadly. "Mimi, listen to Tai and TK. Bring them back into the castle and let them help you leave." Sora began to fade as Mimi began to wake up from her dream. "Wait! Sora no, come back! I need your help!" Mimi began to cry as she realized exactly what she had gotten herself into. "Wait, Mimi, please don't cry!" Palmon began to cry as well as she saw her partner cry.

"Well, I've done everything I can." Sora shrugged and closed the door as quietly as she could. "Let's get out of here then." Ally suggested as their two digimon went ahead of the two girls to check if the coast was clear. "Digimon at 12 o'clock." Kangamon jumped down another hole in the floor, making a soft landing for Sora and Ally as they followed Biyomon down the hole as well. "Isn't this the same one that we used before?" Ally giggled. "Yeah, it is, but it works as a safe place for now." Sora nodded and closed up the hole to avoid suspicion. "Be quiet." Kangamon whispered as the four turned around and saw a massive stage with a gigantic digimon on it. "Did we just find ShogunGeckomon?" Sora asked. "I think we did…" Biyomon flew closer to it and shuddered. "It's awful… It may be their king, but it's not very kingly at all." Kangamon frowned.

Tai glanced at TK's sleeping body while Agumon stoked the fire. "What are we gonna do now, Agumon? We don't even have Linzi anymore." Tai sighed. "Hey, don't worry Tai! Linzi will make it back to us sooner rather than later, and we'll be able to figure out what we're supposed to do then." Agumon kept a positive outlook. "I mean, if worst comes to worst, we can always just barge in there and rescue the girls." Agumon referenced MetalGreymon. "That's true, but honestly, I'd rather not have to have you digivolve unless it really necessary, you know? We could be in real trouble later on and if you just digivolved, you might not be able to help." Tai reasoned. "Well, I guess we'll just have to wait for a little while then." Agumon smiled. "Day's coming anyways, so we might as well just wait." Tai shrugged and picked up some of the fruit that Agumon had gathered from the night before.

Mimi woke with a start from her dream. "Palmon, did you just have the weirdest dream ever?" She asked her sleeping partner. "Yes… And I gotta say something…" Palmon hid her face in her hands. "You can't keep treating the Otammamon and Geckomon this way Mimi! You've got to just sing for them or leave! We've been treating them like slaves…" Palmon began to cry. "Oh, Palmon… We have been treating them awfully and so cruelly when they just want our help…" Mimi gave her partner a hug and tried to wipe away her tears. A pair of the digimon ran into the room. "Princess Mimi! Can we get anything for you?" The Geckomon piped up. "Actually… Palmon, do we want to?" Mimi asked her partner, who simply nodded. "I'm ready to sing. Can you go out to the grounds and get those two boys who came to talk to me last night?" Mimi touched her crest and looked at her old clothes laying next to the bed. "Let's get back together guys." She smiled softly and picked up her clothes.

"Huh? Move. They're coming this way." Tiffany woke with a start as Azuremon pushed Linzi and Torpedomon into a closet. "Geckomon, what is happening?" Tiffany sleepily asked the digimon that had just passed her. "Princess Mimi has decided to sing and is preparing herself for the ceremony." The digimon tearfully replied. "We were dispatched to bring in the two boys that were here last night to the ceremony as well." An Otammamon walked the other way. "We don't want her to go!" They began crying as Tiffany gasped. "Let us go there, Azuremon." Tiffany opened the closet door and a squished Linzi and Torpedomon fell onto the ground. "Get up guys. We've got to move quick." Azuremon helped the duo up, who shook themselves off as the quartet began to run towards ShogunGeckomon's chambers.

"Are you two the boys who came to the castle last night?" Geckomon ran up to Tai and TK along with their partners. "Yes, that's us. Why do you ask?" Patamon asked. "Princess Mimi wishes to have you present at the ceremony to wake ShogunGeckomon." TK gasped. "Well, let's go I guess." Tai shrugged. "If we need to, we can rescue her." Agumon whispered to TK, who nodded. "Here goes nothing then." Patamon flew towards the castle as the others followed on foot.

"Well… Here we are guys…" Mimi smiled at the assembled digimon, including Tiffany, Linzi, Tai, and TK, and their digimon partners. "ShogunGeckomon, Otammamon, Geckomon, you two whose names I don't know, I'd just like to apologize now for how I've treated all of you for the past few months. My behavior has been appalling, and for that I'd just like to apologize now." She smiled sincerely and pointed to Tai and TK. "I didn't realize that I had proved myself to be so shallow and cruel until you guys came back, but thanks to you guys, and the strangest dream I had last night, I was able to see with Palmon's help, how bad I had become, so this is for all of my friends, including all of the digimon here." The music began playing and Mimi began to sing.

"I want to sing a song! A song to bring Shogunmon around, around!"

"When he hears my voice, I hope he likes the sound!"

ShogunGeckomon shifted slowly, and Mimi kept the music going.

"He has to listen… Listen to my sincere heart!

I've learned that friends are friends… Even when they're apart!"

ShogunGeckomon began to slowly open his eyes as Mimi's crest began glowing brightly while her smile got bigger.

"I've asked my friends to forgive me… From the bottom of my heart!"

"If its my choice, I will open wide!"

"And the Geckomon will be cheering… Cheering with pride…"

Mimi smiled as the music stopped and ShogunGeckomon stood up and roared.

"GROAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!" The giant Ultimate level digimon reached down for Mimi, who jumped out of the way. "MIMI! LET'S GO!" Tai yelled as the girl jumped down from the stage and began running through the crowds of Geckomon and Otammamon that were all yelling as ShogunGeckomon stumbled through them. "DUCK!" Palmon yelled as ShogunGeckomon threw a part of the stage over Mimi's head. The digimon's behemoth size proved to disadvantage him, as the many lights surrounding the stage smacked ShogunGeckomon right in the face, enraging it even more. "ROAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!" He reached down to grab Mimi, but was distracted by Palmon's arrival onto the scene. "GET AWAY FROM MY PARTNER, YOU BIG MEANIE!" The plant-like digimon yelled and digivolved.

"PALMON DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO TOGEMON!" Togemon, still tiny compared ShogunGeckomon, jumped up and began punching ShogunGeckomon for all her worth. "Mimi, run!" She yelled as Mimi got up and did so, joining the others in running outside. "TOGEMON! COME ON!" Mimi yelled to her friend as the last of the Geckomon and Otammamon made it outside. "AGH!" ShogunGeckomon go t a hold of Togemon and threw he at the wall, creating a Togemon-shaped hole in the wall, showing the night sky. "TOGEMON!" Mimi screamed as she ran outside to check on her digimon.

Outside, the digimon and humans braced themselves as ShogunGeckomon came crashing through the wall, causing the castle to begin collapsing. "OUR HOME!" A Geckomon yelled. "Forget your home, focus on saving yourselves for now." Tiffany snapped out of her awe at ShogunGeckomon's power. "Azuremon!" She yelled, and Azuremon nodded and began running at the digimon. "Are you crazy? He'll be killed!" Mimi yelled at her. "Hiyah!" Tiffany tore off her maid clothes and showed that she was still wearing her old clothes from before she came to the castle. "I'm a member of the Digidestined, Mimi, just not your group. AZUREMON NOW!" She held up her digivice and Azuremon began to digivolve. "AZUREMON DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO TAIONGMON!" The powerful digimon struck ShogunGeckomon and threw him off balance, saving Togemon and Mimi. "GET UP AND MOVE OUT OF THERE!" Tai yelled.

"Agumon, go help them out!" Tai yelled and Agumon nodded as well. "AGUMON DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO GREYMON!" The champion-level dinosaur-like digimon tackled ShogunGeckomon, bringing the behemoth to the ground with a massive thud. "Be careful guys!" Linzi yelled, concerned for their safety. "There's no worries. GREYMON, THIS COUNTS AS A LIFE-THREATENING SITUATION!" Tai yelled and his Crest began to glow brightly, triggering Greymon's Digivolution.

"GREYMON DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Greymon's skull became cloaked in a digizoid chrome metal, and claws on both of Greymon's hands were created from the same material. He gained a cannonlike weapon on his chest that opened up and shot too warning shots at the ground near him, creating a large explosion. A pair of wings also grew out from Greymon's back, made of the same digizoid chrome metal as his skull. "HIYAH! METALGREYMON, THE WARRIOR OF COURAGE!" MetalGreymon growled at ShogunGeckomon, who growled right back. "GRAH! GIGA BLASTER!" The powerful attack knocked ShogunGeckomon back into the castle, where he lay down and began floating into the air.

Linzi gasped, and pointed to the digimon. "It's just like Cyclonemon!" Tai nodded and TK looked scared. "There it goes towards the mountains… I wonder if Luke and Michael are okay…" Linzi murmured quietly and Torpedomon looked around. "Don't worry about them right now. We've got to get to them first before we can help them." Tiffany gave Linzi a quick hug. "We've got some explaining to do then for Mimi before that." Tai told the girls. "That's right!" Koromon, having just dedigivolved from MetalGreymon, hopped into Tai's arms and fell asleep. "Taiongmon! Come on back!" Tiffany called Azuremon, and the digimon dedigivolved into Azuremon next to her. "Mimi, are you okay?" TK helped the girl up as Mimi nodded. "I'm fine. Palmon, are you okay?" She asked her friend. "Yeah, I'm alright." Palmon hugged Mimi. "I'm glad." She smiled.

"You guys have a lot of explaining to do." Mimi glared for a moment at Tai. "Relax Mimi, we can explain on the path out of this place. For now, we've got to-" Tiffany was interrupted by a scream from Linzi. "Tiffany, we can't go to the mountains, we've got to follow Sora and Ally!" Azuremon put a hand on Linzi's shoulder. "Guess we'll explain on the way to Sora!" Tiffany laughed quietly as the group of ten headed out.

"They're onto us Ally." Sora whispered as the two and their digimon made their way through the forest. "I know, Sora, I heard Linzi's scream." Ally sighed. "Are you really sure that you don't want to at least talk to them?" "Yes, I'm sure." Sora snapped and Biyomon sighed. "We'll keep trying." Kangamon whispered to Ally as the quartet sped through the forest.

Tiffany and Mimi have rejoined the group, and Sora and Ally are on the move! However, with Izzy running into trouble, the other group of digidestined are forced to take action to save the brainiac!


	27. Reunited and It Feels so Good! Part 2

Disclaimer! I own only my OCs and potentially a few of the OC digimon. Everything else is owned by Saban Brands.

Hope you all enjoy and don't forget to review!

Try Chapter 27

After the events at ShogunGeckomon's Castle

Luke stared up at the sky as he, Michael, Joe, and Matt continued to travel through the increasingly steep mountains. "Any sign of Izzy or Jacob?" He called up from his position at the back of the group. "I'm not seeing anything!" Ravenmon called from the front of the line, where he flew ahead of the group. "We've got to be getting closer though, because the digivices are getting closer together." Michael showed the group his digivice, which showed them as a short ways away from Jacob. "We should try to catch up to Jacob before sunset today." Matt spoke quietly, and Joe nodded. "Where Jacob is, Izzy will surely be near." Gomamon chipped in.

Jacob looked behind him, expecting to see an aggressive digimon coming up on his tail. "Caninmon, did you hear that?" He asked his partner, who tensed up quickly. "Yes. There's something coming. It's a whiles away though." Caninmon began to run ahead. "Wait up. We don't want to worry Izzy." Jacob stopped the digimon. "But if there's a digimon nearby, Izzy should know, shouldn't he?" Caninmon protested. "Not exactly so. We don't want to blow our cover quite so quickly, plus Izzy's got his Crest, just like we do." Jacob stared closer down the hill. "In fact, there's why I wanted to wait." He pointed down the hill. "What is it?" Caninmon asked him, his height preventing the digimon from seeing anything.

"Here." Jacob held out his digivice for the digimon to look at. "Michael and Luke? What are they doing here?" Caninmon wondered. "That's why I want to wait. Plus, I want them to see my Crest." Jacob looked down at the green Crest around his neck. "Remember how tricky it was for us to get this guy?" He asked Caninmon. "How could I forget?" His friend pawed at his pant leg.

One month prior

"Caninmon, we lost Izzy." Jacob sighed, looking down at his digivice. "He's not anywhere on the screen." The two sat down and began studying the digivice. "Nothing is picking up, it's almost like it's short-circuited or something." Jacob tried to look for the mountains. "Wait, Jacob, are you just ignoring the fact that your tag is glowing?" Caninmon nudged the tag with this nose. "Oh… Does the tag affect my digivice?" He wondered briefly. "Well, I guess we should get to looking for it." He shrugged. "We've got to stay on the mountains though, otherwise we'll lose Izzy for good." Caninmon began to sniff around.

"Wait, what's that?" Jacob pointed to a pale shroud of fog heading directly towards the duo. "That doesn't seem good at all." Caninmon woofed right before the two were swallowed up by the fog. "Where are you? I can't see anything in here!" Caninmon felt something and bit it. "OW! That's my leg, Caninmon!" Jacob yelped as Caninmon laughed. "Not funny! You could've seriously hurt me!" Jacob reached down and felt around for his partner. "Hold still so I can figure out where you are." He picked up Caninmon and began moving around. "Can you see anything in this fog?" Jacob asked his friend. "No, not really. It's too thick to see anything past your feet."

"What's that over there?" Jacob pointed. "It looks like something's moving toward us." Caninmon readied himself to fight if necessary. "Relax yourselves. I am here to walk you out of the fog." The spectrum gestured for them to walk towards it. "Follow me, and the fog will dissipate." The spectrum began walking away, and Jacob shrugged. "We've got to be careful now, Jacob. If it gets dangerous, let me digivolve, okay?" Caninmon told his friend. "Got it. Situation gets hairy, you take over." Jacob nodded. "Rest assured, everything will be fine." The spectrum murmured and flickered momentarily.

"Say, who are you?" Jacob asked the spectrum. "I am the ghost of digimon long past, summoned by my master to aid you." The spectrum answered. "When I lived, I was known and feared as Dobermon." "Dobermon are peaceful digimon, aren't they?" Jacob asked Caninmon, now very nervous. "Typically yes. Can we ask who your master is?" Caninmon began to mentally go through the list of digimon that could summon spectrums. The list was very short. "My master is the great and powerful Gravemon." The spectrum flickered again and Jacob's digivice began to beep and shine brightly. "What's it doing?!" Jacob asked, bewildered and taking it out of his pocket.

"GRAVEMON! A CHAMPION-LEVEL DIGIMON THAT IS KNOWN TO LURE ITS PREY TO ITS LAIR USING A SPECTRUM AND THICK FOG. APPROACH WITH EXTREME CAUTION." The digivice blared as the duo heard an evil laugh. "Well, it seems that I've been found out!" The fog disappeared, along with the spectrum as Jacob and Caninmon looked around to see where they were. "We're still on the mountain… And the digivice is saying that we're closer to Izzy than before." Jacob breathed a sigh of relief. "Don't breathe easy yet. Look!" Caninmon jumped to the ground and began growling at a tombstone. "Is that Gravemon?" Jacob asked, confused. "No, this is! HYPER BLAST!" Caninmon's attack struck a pair of vines that recoiled towards the tombstone. "Blast it all! You won't go easy then, will you!" Gravemon opened his eyes and turned around.

The digimon had one robotic eye and one normal eye located just above a crack in the stone that served as the digimon's mouth. A strange bat-creature was inked on in red at the top of the tombstone, while vines grew out of its base. "You are nasty." Jacob recoiled at the sight of the decaying bodies surrounding Gravemon. "Nasty, but incredibly efficient. Now, I'M HUNGRY!" Gravemon charged through the dirt at the two, growling. "I don't think so!" Jacob's digivice began to glow and Caninmon digivolved. "CANINMON DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO RANETSUMON!" The two champion-level digimon faced off while Jacob began studying Gravemon for weak points.

"Ranetsumon! Look! On one of his vines! It's my Crest!" Jacob saw the shining light that matched the light of his tag. "Let's just get that real quick here. WOLF'S KNUCKLES!" Ranetsumon lost no time in stunning Gravemon and grabbing the Crest. "Catch!" He threw it to Jacob, who successfully caught it and watched as it slid into his tag. 'THE CREST OF HAPPINESS!' The voice appeared in his head, and Jacob smiled. "The Crest of Happiness." He told Ranetsumon, who stared down Gravemon, smiling. "Oh no… I clearly didn't think this through very well…" The champion-level digimon realized that he was out-matched. "I surrender?" He offered. "Nope. Goodbye." Ranetsumon picked Gravemon up out of the ground and threw him in the air. "WOLF'S KNUCKLES!" The attack hit and sent Gravemon down into the valley below them, creating a massive cloud of dust where he had landed. "Now, let's get back to finding Izzy." Jacob laughed and hugged his partner before he dedigivolved into Caninmon.

PRESENT TIME

"Gravemon was an actual fool, wasn't he?" Jacob asked. "Yep, he really was." Caninmon agreed. "Here's Michael, Luke, and… Matt and Joe too?" Jacob raised his eyebrows as the group of four plus their digimon walked up to him. "Jacob!" Luke gave the boy a quick hug. "Hey guys, how have you been?" He asked. "It's a loooong story. Let's do some introductions first. Matt, Joe, this is Jacob and Caninmon, Jacob's partner." Michael laughed. "Nice to meet you both." Jacob smiled. "You should probably go catch up to Izzy if we're gathering everyone up." Caninmon quickly caught on and pushed Matt and Joe along with their partners ahead. "Now, you guys have got to fill me in on everything that's happened. Where is everyone else?" Jacob asked and the group began walking again.

"The digivice is saying that Izzy should be at the top of this hill." Joe pushed his glasses up his nose. "Let's hurry then. It's not too much farther." Matt and Gabumon began to run, while Joe and Gomamon paced themselves. "IZZY!" Matt called out to their friend as they reached the top of the hill. "Hey guys!" Izzy smiled and turned around. "I'll be right back! I've got to go with Vademon for a minute, but I'll be back as soon as possible!" Joe caught up to Matt and instantly spotted Vademon. "What is that thing?" He pointed at the weird-looking digimon.

"How dare you! I am Vademon, an Ultimate level digimon whose entire goal in this world is to learn! For your insolence, you shall pay!" The digimon that had a massive brain attached to the top of his head and eight tentacles for legs pointed a laser ray at the two. "KEERIEMON! GET THEM!" He grabbed Izzy and Tentomon and vanished into a portal right as another digimon jumped out. "What is that thing?!" Matt gasped as Keeriemon growled angrily at him. "I AM KEERIEMON GROAAAAAAAAAAAAR!" The digimon stomped its feet.

The powerful digimon cracked the ground and stared at the two humans with their partners. It had a massive tuba wrapped around its fiery-orange body and was covered in a strange blue metal that resisted the flames coming out of its back. Its left arm was significantly larger than the right, and the right arm also held a large gun. "Wait…" Gabumon began to realize something. "Matt, pull out your digivice and point it at Keeriemon!" He yelled as he and Matt split from Joe and Gomamon to avoid Keeriemon's first downward swing. "It's saying that Keeriemon is an Ultimate level digimon that was created by Vademon! Apparently it's a fusion of ShogunGeckomon, Cyclonemon, and Sealsdramon, giving it the power of a Mega level digimon with the defenses of an Ultimate level digimon!" Matt paled and Gabumon nodded. "We've got to do something!"

"Guys, what's that noise at the top of the mountain?" Luke perked up, and Ravenmon did as well. "It's probably just the boys." Caninmon reasoned. "No, it's fighting noises. Ravenmon, we need speed." Luke stood up quickly, fearing for the safety of the others. "RAVENMON DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOO TOUCAMON!" Luke jumped on Toucamon's back and began flying to the top of the mountain, seeing the massive figure of Keeriemon. "GUYS!" He called down to Michael and Jacob. "THEY NEED HELP! LET'S GET MOVING!" Michael nodded and began running up the mountain, Chinchilmon, Jacob, and Caninmon hot on his heels.

"FIERY WING!" The attack from Toucamon distracted Keeriemon long enough for Matt, Joe, and their partners to get out of the firing zone. "I'll take this from here." Luke told them. "If you're sure…" Joe agreed reluctantly. "We've got it under control." Luke nodded confidently, and began whispering to Toucamon. "How are you feeling right now?" He asked. "I'm doing alright. This thing is powerful though, and if it hits, I'm a goner." Toucamon realized. "That's why we've got to just evade. You're the best of us here at evading, so this is going to be on you. We've just got to be patient and wait for the perfect time to strike." Luke reassured his partner. "To the left!" He yelled as Toucamon dived and dodged Keeriemon's bullets.

"Can we do anything?" Michael asked Jacob as the two and their partners reached the top of the mountain. "No, because we might distract Luke, which would be bad." Jacob stopped him, and Michael nodded. "Let's take cover." The duo hid behind a cluster of rocks as a boulder flew over their heads. "Yikes! This guy means business!" Chinchilmon's eyes widened. "I think Izzy's in trouble." Caninmon told the other three. "Why do you say that?" Michael asked. "Call it a gut feeling… Plus Jacob's digivice was saying that he was at the top of the hill." Caninmon replied. "Hopefully he's okay… Because we won't be moving anytime soon." Michael peaked out from behind the rocks and immediately moved back as another boulder came rolling past.

"LUKE! There's a girl over there." Toucamon saw a girl hiding behind a pile of boulders near Matt and Joe. "Don't get distracted. Keeriemon is still going strong!" Luke yelled as Toucamon dived again to avoid Keeriemon's attack. "That was close!" Toucamon gasped. "Just a little longer… Hang in there buddy, we'll wear him down soon." The duo flew around Keeriemon's head again as the girl that they had seen walked out into the clearing. "HEY, YOU BIG BRUTE! WHY DON'T YOU PAY ATTENTION TO ME!" She threw a rock at the mutant digimon, drawing its attention and preventing it from landing an attack on Toucamon and Luke. "ARE YOU CRAZY?! HE'LL KILL YOU!" Toucamon yelled and began diving for Keeriemon's neck.

"EEP!" The girl yelled and dived to the left as Keeriemon's fist struck the ground right where she had been standing. "TOUCAMON! Grab its neck and try to lift it in the air!" Luke told his partner, who reached out his talons and grabbed a piece of Keeriemon's metal armor that stuck out. "GRAH?!" The digimon looked around, confused at why he was being lifted into the air. "GO!" Luke yelled at the girl, who ran to Matt and Joe's rock and slid behind it. "KEERIEMON WANTS DOWN! GRAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Keeriemon began thrashing around as he slowly was lifted higher in the air. "If you insist!" Toucamon laughed and dropped the digimon, who landed on the ground with a large crash, creating a massive dust cloud.

Michael and Jacob peaked out. "I can't see anything. Can you guys?" Michael asked. "That whole entire clearing is filled with dust." Chinchilmon agreed. "Caninmon, you've got better eyes than the rest of us. Can you see anything?" Jacob asked, and the dog-like digimon peered into the dust. "It's too thick… Anything that's in there is being obscured by the dust." Caninmon shook his head.

"Gabumon, Gomamon, you guys see anything?" Matt asked while Joe looked the girl over for any injuries. "What's your name?" He asked her. "Taylor… Taylor Kellog. Thank you for saving me." Taylor brushed her blue jeans off. "Don't thank us. Thank Luke up there. He's still battling that thing… Or at least, I think he is." Gomamon peered around and immediately shot his head back. "It's super dusty but Keeriemon is still most definitely alive." Gabumon reported, Gomamon nodding furiously. "We should try to get the dust to clear somehow…" Matt began fanning the air. "That's kinda working." Taylor joined in. "By the way, what are you doing here anyways? You don't look like you have a digimon partner…" Gabumon asked the girl. "Honestly, I'm not sure why I'm here either… It's a long story that MIGHT HAVE TO WAIT!" Taylor yelled as the group ducked behind the rocks again, having seen Keeriemon standing up again.

"Toucamon, can you tell if that did him in?" Luke asked his partner. "Let me try to remove the dust first." Toucamon began flapping his wings and the dust slowly cleared, revealing Keeriemon glaring up at the duo. "He's most definitely still alive." Luke's eyes widened. "AND VERY ANGRY!" Keeriemon began to shine a bright white light as a ball of flew into Keeriemon. "GRAH! Your insolent little friend cannot defeat me in here!" Keeriemon growled. "Wait… Vademon?" Toucamon asked, confused. "YOU'LL NEVER DEFEAT ME NOW!" Keeriemon roared. "I HAVE FUSED WITH VADEMON TO CREATE THE MOST POWERFUL DIGIMON ON THESE MOUNTAINS!" Keeriemon, with his newly expanded brain, stared at Toucamon and Luke. "Well… Here goes nothing…" Luke hesitantly. "CONFIDENCE, MY FRIEND!" Toucamon dived towards Keeriemon, who merely pointed his gun at the duo. "STUNNER BULLETS!"

Unable to dodge the attack in time, Toucamon was struck by the bullets, creating electrical nets that surrounded both Luke and Toucamon. "LUKE!" Toucamon yelled as the duo crashed into the mountainside. The two lay motionless as Keeriemon walked up to them, laughing evilly. "If any of you try to interfere, they will die." He directed his voice at Michael and Matt, who had stood up to stop Keeriemon. "What do you want?" Luke hissed at Keeriemon before being shocked by the electrical net. "I believe it's more of what do YOU want." Keeriemon smiled knowingly. "I know the digimon that killed your family." Luke's eyes widened. "Wait, what?" Toucamon asked before being shocked again. "You heard me right. I know the digimon that killed. Your. Parents." Keeriemon leered at Luke. "Jokes on you. That's not the reason I'm here anymore." Luke grimaced again while being shocked.

"I think that's where you'll find that you're wrong." Keeriemon heard movement behind him and turned around quickly. "DEMIDEVIMON! BE GONE!" He shot in the air and heard a pained yell as the rookie-level digimon flew away. "And you, digidestined. Don't come any closer or I will kill you." Izzy jumped out of the portal to Vademon's dimension and immediately froze. "You want to know who killed your parents, don't you?" Keeriemon stared into Luke's eyes again. "No! I have come to terms with my parents deaths." Luke repeated, less convincingly. "Luke, hold strong!" Toucamon was shocked again. "Enough out of you!" Keeriemon glared at Toucamon. "What would you be willing to do if I… helped you destroy your parents' killer?" He laughed as Luke's face paled.

"You're… You're lying. You have to be." The older boy tried to wipe at his eyes, but was shocked again. "No no no, no moving until you're honest with yourself!" Keeriemon chided, becoming increasingly more cruel with every passing second. "I've got all day!" He poked Luke's electric net with his gun. "LEAVE ME ALONE!" Luke yelled and began to thrash about. "LUKE!" Toucamon yelled. The older boy, known for his ability to keep a level head, began to sob violently. "Luke, listen to me. He doesn't know what he's talking about!" Toucamon called to his friend. "No… He does know… I hear it in his voice…" Luke kept sobbing, his pain intensified by the electric net. "So… Tell me… Do you want to know?" Keeriemon asked, and Luke choked on his sobs. "IT WAS APOKALYMON! AND YOU'LL NEVER BE ABLE TO DEFEAT HIM!" Keeriemon laughed evilly.

"Luke, don't listen to him! Look at me! You must persevere. You have to be strong, not only for yourself, but for your parents, watching over you, and for the entire digital world! We need you, and you can do this!" Toucamon braced himself for the next electric pulse, but was shocked when nothing came. He opened his eyes and looked over at Luke, who was hiding his face and trembling. "Luke, are you here?" Toucamon softly asked and watched as Keeriemon walked over to Luke's net. "GET UP!" The digimon grabbed the net and roughly pulled Luke up, where he stood, his fists clenched. "What's the matter? Can't speak cause you'll upset your parents?" Keeriemon began laughing.

"There is… A major difference… Between attacking me… And attacking my parents…" Luke whispered. "My parents… Were some of the nicest people that anyone could ever know." Luke looked up and glared at Keeriemon, who took a step back at the intimidating glare. "Oh, little boy is getting upset!" Keeriemon took another step back. "You're not going anywhere. He's all yours Luke." Michael stood behind Keeriemon to prevent the digimon from leaving. "Not this way either." Matt blocked the left, while Jacob, Joe, and Taylor blocked the right.

"The majority of our Crests are activated when we truly realize what they stand for." Luke spoke quietly as his Crest began to glow. "But there are a few that activate when the bearer realizes that it is okay to lose that quality, because the bearer is human. Mine is one of those." Luke looked up at Toucamon. "Are you ready buddy?" He asked his friend. "I'm just as ready to take out this moron as you are." Toucamon confidently grinned. "LET'S GO!" Luke yelled as his digivice began to glow.

"TOUCAMON!" Toucamon doubled in size, maintaining his colorful feathers and purple underbelly while some of the feathers caught on fire. His bright orange and yellow beak slimmed down to create a finer point, and his eyes became a powerful sky blue color. "DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Toucamon's feet also changed colors from bright orange to a fiery red, matching the flames in his feathers. His wings also gained sharp digizoid chrome points at the end of some of his feathers that were able to withstand the heat coming from his flames. "EREBONOMON!" The Ultimate level digimon broke through the shock net and did a loop-de-loop in the air before landing on the ground in front of Luke.

"That's what I'm talking about Erebonomon!" Luke cheered. "HIYAH!" Erebonomon glared at Keeriemon. "STUNNER BULLETS!" Keeriemon tried to stop the powerful Ultimate before he could get an attack off, but Erebonomon quickly dodged the attack and fired back with another attack. "FLAME-TIPPED FEATHER BLADES!" The digizoid chrome-tipped feathers lit themselves on fire from the feathers on flame and Erebonomon shot the feathers directly at Keeriemon. "GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Keeriemon began to scream at the top of his lungs as his exhaustion from the earlier battle showed itself. "HIYAH! FLAME BREATH!" Similar to Ravenmon's Fire Spray attack, powerful flames spewed out of Erebonomon and blasted Keeriemon in the stomach, destroying it immediately.

"Ooooh… I'm tired…." Erebonomon dedigivolved back to Windomon, his in-training form. "Luke, pick me up!" The tiny digimon yawned and Luke obliged. "Good job little buddy. I'm really proud of you." Luke gave his partner a tight hug. "Now, there are quite a lot of things that need to be explained here, so I suggest we all take a seat." He smiled at the group, who had come out from behind the rocks. "Don't worry, I'm normally pretty level-headed in everyday life. Impatience is this one's issue." Luke joked and pointed to Jacob and the group started laughing.

"Okay, so let's start with you, hun. What's your name?" Michael pointed to Taylor. "Well, my name is Taylor Kellog, and I'm 17-years-old. I'm not sure why I'm here, but I was dragged in here after this weird creature kinda came through my house and destroyed my kitchen a few months ago." Taylor explained briefly, adjusting her pink blouse. "Do you have a digimon partner?" Jacob asked. "If digimon are these little guys, then no. I've just kinda been chased around these mountains by the bigger, nastier versions of these guys." She pointed to Windomon. "Well, we're kinda on our way to getting home, so I guess if you want to come with us, you can." Luke offered, and Matt nodded. "It's not safe for someone without a digital partner, so just come with us." "Well, I can't exactly refuse that offer." Taylor giggled and smiled brightly.

"Now, Izzy. I'm sure you also have a lot of questions." Joe started talking to Izzy. "To give you the short story, Jacob, Luke, and Michael are all members of the digidestined of a different group that have been following us and helping out as much as they could. Their friends are currently looking for the rest of our friends, and we've already found Tai and TK. With the five of us, that just means Sora and Mimi are still gone, although it wouldn't surprise me if Tai, TK, and Linzi had found Mimi by this point." Matt monologued. "That's a lot of stuff to take in…" Izzy's eyes widened. "You say that you are all from the human world too?" He pulled out his laptop and Motimon, Tentomon's in-training form, hopped out of his backpack. "Where from? I want to know if there's any correlation between our being selected as the digidestined and where we live." He began typing away. "Well, I know my group all lives somewhere in America, and your group lives in Japan, right?" Jacob supplied the information. "Okay, so just off the top of the head, it's not only Japanese children then." Izzy closed his laptop and looked up. "Do you all have Crests?" He asked, excited as Caninmon woofed softly to bring Jacob's attention to his digivice.

"Guys, we've got a read on something." Jacob pulled out his digivice and the group pulled out theirs, with Taylor looking at Michael's. "What are these things?" She asked the boy. "These are our digivices. They let us digivolve our partners, kinda like how Luke digivolved Toucamon into Erebonomon, and they also serve as tracking devices, for times like these." Michael pressed a button and two flashing lights popped up.

"It's Ally and Sora!" Michael cheered, and Chinchilmon laughed happily. "We've got to go get them and meet up with the rest of the group!" He stood up and the rest of the group slowly followed. "Come on! It shows that they're down in the forest, and the only way down is the way we came, so we might as well get moving." Matt grabbed Taylor's hand and began to pull her down the mountain with him. "EEP! I guess I'm going places too!" She yelled as the group of Digidestined began heading down the mountain.

As the other group heads down the mountain to look for Sora and Ally, DemiDevimon and Myotismon have begun their evil plotting! It'll take more than just one group of Digidestined to stop the evilly dynamic duo!

A/ N: LUKE FINALLY GOT ACTUAL BACKSTORY KINDA! Sorry for neglecting him so much, but there just wasn't a right moment to fit some in until now, and by no means is this his last chapter for character development. Also, I really hope y'all enjoy Taylor. While she may not have done anything in this chapter, she will be an integral part of the storyline sooner rather than later.


	28. Reunited and It Feels so Good! Part 3

Disclaimer! I own only my OCs and potentially a few of the OC digimon. Everything else is owned by Saban Brands.

Hope you all enjoy and don't forget to review!

Chapter 28

A rustle in the bushes caused a small digimon to glance up from the berry that she was eating. Moonmon, a gray tear-shaped in training digimon dropped the berry when she heard the voices of two digimon. "O terrible one, please forgive me! The sole Crest that hasn't glowed is the Crest of Love…" DemiDevimon appeared, flying through the trees. Moonmon froze and jumped into a bush. "DEMIDEVIMON! YOU HAVE FAILED ME AGAIN!" An evil voice floated through the air and caused Moonmon to tremble.

The owner of the voice stepped into Moonmon's view, and the tiny digimon tried to stay as still as she could. "These digidestined think that they're so clever… Little do they know, I still have more tricks up my sleeve." A vampire-looking digimon silhouette stepped into the moonlight and Moonmon's eyes widened. "Lord Myotismon, please, give me one last chance to take them out! The Child of Love will be meeting them soon, and I can take care of them there!" DemiDevimon begged his master, falling to the ground. "Very well…" Myotismon granted. "However, should you fail me, my bats will have a new chew toy." Myotismon transformed into a bat and flew off into the air, leaving DemiDevimon on the ground, growling angrily.

"This will work just fine." DemiDevimon pulled out a syringe and giggled ominously, looking around. "Aha!" He stared in Moonmon's direction, grinning evilly. "Come here, little digibrat!" Moonmon flinched as DemiDevimon reached into the bush that she lay in. "No!" Moonmon squeaked as DemiDevimon grabbed her. "You're right. Not enough." He added more of a green liquid into the syringe. "Let's test it out!" The digimon stabbed Moonmon with the syringe and laughed as the in-training digimon cried out in pain and collapsed. "Let's see how they survive this one!" DemiDevimon flew off as well, leaving Moonmon to die on the forest floor.

In the Morning

"Guys! We've got to keep going!" Tai energetically woke the rest of his group up. "Tai, we just woke up. Give us a second." Linzi yawned and sat up, looking around their makeshift camp. TK was already awake and playing with Patamon while Agumon watched over the two. Not surprisingly, Azuremon was also awake and helping Tiffany get packed, while Mimi and Palmon were fast asleep. She turned to her side and saw Torpedomon staring at her, eyes wide open. "Well hello there." Linzi laughed and slowly got up, having not changed from the night before.

Sooner than later, they had disassembled their camp and were on their way, following Sora and Ally's signals on their digivices. "How far do you think they've gotten?" TK asked Tai. "Hopefully not too far. I think we can all agree that we're getting tired of running." Tai responded, and TK nodded. "If we stay on the path that we're on, we'll probably catch up with her sometime today." Tiffany nodded. "Let's keep going then." Azuremon picked up TK piggyback style. "So you won't super tired so easily." He smiled at the smaller boy, who laughed.

Michael stared intently into the forest ahead of them. "Looking for something?" Taylor put her hand on his shoulder. "Our digivices are saying that they're nearby." Michael murmured quietly. "Ally and Sora?" Taylor asked, looking around the two. "Yep." Michael seemed uneasy. "Relax. We'll find them." Taylor laughed, her blue eyes glowing briefly. Chinchilmon jumped on Michael's shoulder, startling the boy. "Come on Michael! The others are waiting!" Michael nodded and began walking down towards the forest. Taylor stood there, watching the spot that Michael had been watching. 'What is this world? Why am I even here? I don't have a digimon partner… All of this is just making no sense.' She turned away from the forest and began walking down to the rest of the group.

"Sora and Ally are somewhere in that forest." Luke told the group. "Let's go then." Matt, impatient to see Sora again, started off. "We've got to be careful. We don't know what could be in the forest now!" Joe ran after him. "Joe! Wait up!" Gomamon called to his partner, and Tsunomon followed. "Well, I guess we're going." Izzy sighed and the rest of the group set off after Matt, Joe, and their partners. "Jacob, do we know where we're going?" Taylor asked the boy. "Honestly, I have no clue. I've been in the mountains for so long that I'm not exactly sure where this forest is." Jacob was brutally honest. Taylor was silent for a few moments before she tried starting up the conversation again.

"So, what was your home life like? Did you have any siblings?" She smiled prettily. "Well, I stumbled into the digital world by pure chance. It wasn't like the other guys, who were brought into the digital world because of that nasty Apocalymon guy. My family was normal, didn't have any siblings, and just kinda did my own thing." Jacob shut the topic down quickly. 'Well fine. I won't talk to you then.' Taylor huffed and walked ahead of him. Jacob glanced down at Caninmon and shrugged. "If you ask me, girls make no sense." Caninmon woofed and Jacob nodded, laughing.

Sora and Ally leaned up against a tree as they tried to catch their breath. "They're catching up to us." Ally reluctantly told Sora. "Ugh. How far can we go, do you think?" Sora asked her. "This is your decision. We can go as far as we need to." Ally gave the girl a quick hug. "I want to make it out of this forest before nighttime." Sora announced and stood up again. "Kangamon, Biyomon, you guys okay?" Ally asked the digimon, who merely nodded. "We're good to go for a little longer." Sora nodded and began running out of the forest, getting the others to follow her.

They had only been running for a little bit before they heard panicked yells behind them. "What's that?" Sora skidded to a stop, and Ally barely stopped before her. "It sounds like Mimi and TK!" Biyomon gasped. "They're in trouble." Kangamon added. "Do we help?" Ally asked Sora, who simply nodded and turned around, prepared to rescue the other digidestined.

"MIMI! GET DOWN!" Tai yelled as a digimon came flying over their heads. "EEK!" The girl screamed as she was pushed down by Palmon. "What is that digimon?" TK's eyes widened. "That's Flymon! He's an insect-type, virus digimon who can be rather nasty!" Patamon gasped. "Hey guys!" Linzi turned to their left and saw Matt and Joe running towards them. "Matt! Joe!" Tai called out, smiling. "Man, we're glad to see you! This guy is Flymon, and he's being rather nasty right now." The digivolved Agumon pointed at Flymon, who launched another Brown Stinger attack. "Let's take him out then!" Tsunomon cheered, and he and Agumon went to work.

"TSUNOMON DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO GABUMON!" Gabumon and Agumon stood their ground as Flymon came whizzing over the group's head again. "PEPPER BREATH!" "BLUE BLASTER!" The two attacks missed Flymon completely, as the digimon simply flew under the attacks. "Yikes!" TK squeaked as the digimon came for him. "MOTIMON DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO TENTOMON!" Izzy came running around the corner as well. "Izzy!" Mimi cheered. "Tentomon! Help Agumon and Gabumon out!" Izzy yelled as he caught up to the rest of the Japanese Digidestined.

"SUPER SHOCKER!" "PEPPER BREATH!" "BLUE BLASTER!" The three attacks spiraled towards Flymon, but the digimon simply veered sharply to the left and avoided all three attacks. "GRAH! BROWN STINGER!" The attack flew over the digidestineds' heads and pushed Agumon, Tentomon, and Gabumon to the ground. "POISON IVY!" Palmon tried to grab Flymon with her vines, but missed. "MARCHING FISHES!" Gomamon also tried to knock Flymon out of the air, but missed as well. "BOOM BUBBLE!" Patamon gave it a go, but his attack proved ineffective against the champion-level digimon. "We need some added strength!" Tai yelled as Flymon attacked the group again.

"CAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAW!" "Look up there! It's Birdramon!" Mimi pointed and gasped. "Birdramon's taking care of Flymon for us… That means Sora must be near here!" Izzy realized with a start as Birdramon began attacking. "METEOR WING!" The fiery attack engulfed Flymon and sent it spiraling to the ground in flames, defeated easily. "Follow that Birdramon!" Tai called as the group of Japanese digidestined plus Linzi and Tiffany began to run after Birdramon. Following behind them were the rest of the American digidestined and Taylor. They had decided to let Matt, Izzy, and Joe reunite with the other three before creating more confusion.

"Sora, they're catching up!" Ally called to her friend. "I know, but I've got to find where Biyomon landed!" Sora called back, pulling ahead of the other girl and her partner. "Be careful…" Ally whispered as Sora went out of sight. "We've done all we can Ally. Now, it's time to hope that our work pays off." Kangamon reminded her partner. "I wish there was something more that we could do." Ally sighed, and continued to run ahead, trying to catch up to Sora. "We'll never know until we try." Kangamon nodded and sped up.

Tai began to run as fast as he could. "Matt, let's cut her off up here! You stay on the path and I'll cut through the trees!" He yelled and pulled off into the trees so Sora wouldn't see him approaching. Hearing the two boys, Ally gasped and pulled Kangamon and herself into the forest to avoid being seen. "Be quiet, but keep moving." She whispered to Kangamon, who nodded. "Oof!" She quickly ducked underneath a bush as Tai ran past her. "Let's make sure to keep up at least a little bit." Kangamon muttered as Matt passed them. Ally laughed quietly.

"BIYOMON!" Sora yelled as she caught her partner. "I've got you." She smiled as Biyomon sat up. "Where's Ally and Kangamon?" She asked. "I sped ahead of them so I could get to you in time." Sora smiled softly. "SORA!" Tai jumped out from the trees in front of the girl. "Woah!" Sora gasped as she turned around, only to be faced with Matt standing behind her. "Sora, relax for a second. It's us, Matt, and Tai." Matt tried to talk reason into Sora's slowly-panicking self. "NO!" Sora began to run in front of Tai, but the boy caught her wrist and pulled her back, causing her to cry out in pain. "Let her go!" Matt turned around to see the silhouette of another girl running towards the trio and their partners. "Who's that?" Matt wondered, looking down at Gabumon.

"Let her go, Tai." The silhouette repeated. "Who are you?" Tai demanded to know. "Oh… I guess you don't know me yet, huh?" The girl stepped into the sunlight and took off her hat. "My name is Ally, and I'm Sora's protector, or mentor." Ally introduced herself to the two boys. "This is my partner, Kangamon. We're digidestined just like you, even if we're from a different country." Tai slowly let go of Sora's wrist, and Sora ran to Ally's side. "You're okay, Sora. It's about time you guys caught up." Ally stared pointedly at the two boys. "Where are the other members of your group?" Kangamon asked Agumon and Gabumon. "They're right behind you, actually." Gabumon pointed, and Kangamon turned around to see that Joe, Izzy, Mimi, and TK were in fact right behind her.

"Well, fair enough." Ally shrugged, pulling Sora into a hug. "Sora, I think you owe these guys an explanation." Biyomon chirped. Sora looked wearily at the ground. "Sora, why did you run away from us? Was it cause you didn't like us anymore?" TK walked up to the girl. "No, of course not…" Sora denied that. There was a long silence before TK spoke up again. "I like you a lot Sora. I don't like when you're not around. When you're here, it makes me miss my mom a little less." The little boy smiled and gave his friend a hug. "Thank you TK." Sora smiled sadly. "We've got a while, so let's start telling." Matt walked up to the girl and gave her a side hug, surprising Tai. "Well, I guess it started the night that I left the group to find Tai…" Sora sighed and sat down.

"It was really dark that night, and Biyomon and I were trying to find a place to sleep for the night when we overheard a conversation between this weird, ball-shaped digimon with wings and a portal. They were talking about our crests, and how each of them would help us digivolve to the next level, you know? Like most of them already have?" Sora looked at her Crest. "Biyo and I tried to get away from that weird digimon as fast as we could, but he showed up later that night, right around when Ally appeared too." She sniffled, and Ally smiled reassuringly. "That creep, DemiDevimon, right?" She glanced up at Ally, who nodded. "DemiDevimon told me that my Crest would never glow… Because I never knew love, and I don't have love in me…" Sora sighed.

Tai's eyebrows raised, his mouth opened in shock. "That's ridiculous! You're one of the most loving people that I know!" He sat down in front of Sora and looked her in the eyes. "DemiDevimon is one nasty creep. You shouldn't listen to him." The leader of the Japanese digidestined told her. "No… You don't understand Tai!" Sora yelled and began crying again. Mimi walked up to Sora and hugged the girl. "The only way that we can understand is if you help us, Sora, like you helped me understand that what I was doing was wrong."

"Ever since I was young, my mom has always been bugging me about helping in our family flower shop." Sora started off shakily. "She wouldn't let me go with my friends to the big swimming pool by our house, or let me play on the big playground near the school… Because she just wanted me to help in the family flower house every afternoon after school." The girl wiped her eyes. "Keep going sweetie." Ally put a hand on Sora's shoulder.

"Tai, do you remember a few years ago, when I almost hurt my ankle right before the regional championships in football?" Sora asked the boy, who nodded. "I came home that day from school ready to play, and my mom told that she wouldn't let me play in the game that night…" Sora began to cry as she thought back to that day.

"Absolutely not, Sora. You're going to help in the shop tonight, and that's final!" Sora's mom's voice floated through the air as a nine-year-old Sora began to sob. "YOU NEVER LET ME DO ANYTHING THAT I WANT TO DO! ALL YOU CARE ABOUT IS YOUR SHOP! YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND!" Sora slammed her bag down onto the ground and ran right out the door, leaving her mom standing in the doorway, a tear falling down her face.

In the Present

"I ended up running out in the town until evening. Somehow, I ended up at the football stadium right as the game ended. We got our butts kicked, six to three." Sora sniffled again. "My team was so depressed about the loss that when they walked right by me, none of them noticed me. I felt like I had let them down, and it just hurt so bad to watch them walk away, knowing that I didn't show up to help when I could've." Sora sighed and put her face in her hands. "It just got me to thinking that all my mom ever focused on was her flower shop, and how she always put her needs first… It made me wonder if what DemiDevimon said was right… Maybe I just didn't know love, maybe I don't know what love is…" The girl's muffled cries came through her hands.

"You do know what love is though…" Matt said quietly, getting Sora's attention. "What do you mean?" She looked up at the boy, who smiled softly. "You've loved all of us while we've been here in the digital world. You looked after us, and the sole reason you left was to find Tai and to help us out. You know what love is." Matt looked up and stared at the sky. "It looks like it's about to rain. Let's get under cover." He helped Sora up, as the girl still looked unsteady on her feet after what Matt had said. "Yeah. I'm going to go look for my friends, as I'm assuming that you left them back there." Ally nodded and looked at Sora. "If you need anything, just call for Kindness, and I'll be here as fast as I can, okay?" She smiled and began walking back the way they had come.

"There's an opening in the trees over there." Sora pointed into the trees, where, as she had said, there was a clearing. "We'll stay here for tonight. Then, tomorrow, we'll reconnect with the other group of digidestined." Tai decided. "It's getting to be nighttime anyways. Digimon, let's go get firewood!" Gomamon led the digimon into the forest on the lookout for wood. "Mimi, let's start cleaning up the clearing, okay?" Joe dragged Mimi away from Sora and Matt as Izzy grabbed Tai and dragged him away, leaving the two together.

"Thank you." Sora spoke quietly. Matt looked at her surprised. "For what?" He asked. "For saying what you said. I may not believe it myself, but it's nice to know that someone thinks so." Sora blushed and turned away. "Hey, that's what friends are for, right?" Matt put his arm around Sora's shoulder and hugged her. "Friends stick together, so we've gotta stick together until we can get out of this mess." "That's exactly right." Sora smiled for the first time in a long time.

Ally and Kangamon walked over the crest of the hill back in the forest to see the American digidestined heading towards her. "GUYS!" Ally smiled and started running towards her friends. "ALLY!" Michael yelled and hugged the girl, who returned the hug. Tiffany raised her eyebrows knowingly and Luke laughed slightly, while Jacob just stared at the two, confused. "Awwww…" Linzi cooed and began walking to Ally as well. "We missed you girl!" Linzi hugged Ally as well, as Kangamon went to talk to Torpedomon and Chinchilmon.

"How have you guys been?" Ally, now in better spirits than she had been in for several weeks, asked Tiffany. "We've been literally all across this digital world, so we're pretty tired." Tiffany smiled and gave Ally a hug as well. "I've been with Sora, so we've kinda been right with you guys the entire time." Ally sheepishly said. "Wait, really?" Luke asked. "Yep. We went to Digitammamon's Diner and tried to help there. Unfortunately, we kinda just kept following DemiDevimon to each place, so we couldn't really help a whole lot." Ally explained. "I guess I understand that. Did you ever see Izzy?" Jacob asked, thinking back to his time following Izzy. "I only went to Izzy once… By that point, he was so far in his head about trying to find the meaning of the digital world that there was no use in following him anymore." Ally shrugged and turned to Kangamon.

"Hey girl, can you and the other digimon lead the way to find a clearing for us to stay in for the night? I've got some catching up to do with them." Ally smiled, and Kangamon nodded. "I'm on it! Digimon, let's go!" Luke stopped the group for a moment. "Hold up Windomon. Let's get you digivolve real quick." He said, and Windomon nodded cheerfully. "WINDOMON DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO RAVENMON!" The rookie-level digimon landed on his feet and the group of digimon started off again. Ally turned around. "Alright, now let's hear all about your adventures." She smiled and sat the group down.

That night

The two digidestined groups lay fast asleep, having not bothered to set up a watch. Their fires burned deep into the night, before slowly going out, leaving the groups in darkness. DemiDevimon flew over the Japanese Digidestined camp, followed by a massive dark cloud that held Myotismon. "This will be the perfect thing to finally take out those digidestined once and for all!" DemiDevimon giggled evilly. He flew past a branch and managed to rattle it just a bit, just barely startling Biyomon awake. "Huh?" She whispered softly as she saw DemiDevimon begin to throw the syringe at Sora. Biyomon woke up fully with a start and threw herself in front of Sora. "NO!" She squawked and flinched when the powerful poison entered her system. "BIYOMON!" Sora sat up and saw me DemiDevimon standing there looking stunned as Sora pulled the syringe out of Biyomon.

"GUYS! WAKE UP! DEMIDEVIMON IS HERE!" Sora hollered and the rest of the Japanese digidestined woke up quickly, with Matt appearing by Sora's side as fast as he could. "Gabumon! Get him!" He yelled and pointed as he looked at Biyomon. "BLUE BLASTER!" Gabumon stood his ground as DemiDevimon growled. "PEPPER BREATH!" Agumon's attack struck the digimon by surprise, and DemiDevimon was thrown into the dark fog that had suddenly covered the area, blocking out the moon. "What's that?" Mimi gasped as a figure emerged from the fog. "I'm not sure, but it doesn't seem good." Tai stood his ground as Joe looked over Biyomon to see the effects of the poison.

"Who are you?!" Izzy yelled at the figure that had appeared. "Hah! That's my master, Lord Myotismon! He's the biggest, baddest digimon this side of the digital world! You won't be able to stand up to his powerful Grizzly Wing attack!" DemiDevimon laughed. Myotismon released his cape and stood menacingly in front of the Japanese Digidestined. His red mask, fangs, pale skin, blue suit and trench coat created an intimidating picture and enemy for the digidestined. "Agumon, give it a go!" "You too Gabumon!" Tai and Matt yelled as the two digimon started attacking. "Tentomon, you help out!" "Patamon, let's try too!" Izzy and TK told their digimon, who nodded. "PEPPER BREATH!" "BLUE BLASTER!" "SUPER SHOCKER!" "BOOM BUBBLE!" The four attacks struck Myotismon, who took them without a flinch.

"Gomamon, you've got to help!" Joe yelled as his digivice began to glow. "Palmon, it's time to digivolve!" Mimi nodded as her digivice began to glow as well. "GOMAMON DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO IKKAKUMON!" "PALMON DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO TOGEMON!" The two champion-level digimon stood, prepared to fight their best. "Ha. Try this on for size. GRIZZLY WING!" Myotismon laughed and a swarm of bats came flying at the digimon.

"ROOKIE DIGIMON, GO FOR THE BATS!" Izzy yelled, and the Rookies went to work. "PEPPER BREATH!" "BLUE BLASTER!" "SUPER SHOCKER!" "BOOM BUBBLE!" The four attacks struck the majority of the bats, but a large clump still made it through. "TOGEMON!" Mimi screamed and shielded her face. "GRAH! I HOPE THIS GETS THE POINT ACROSS! NEEDLE SPRAY!" Togemon sent a barrage of needles at the bats, destroying them. "HARPOON TORPEDO!" Ikkakumon also fired off several missiles that struck Myotismon, creating a massive cloud of smoke. "Nice one, Ikkakumon!" Joe cheered as the smoke began to clear. "Not so fast. You won't be getting rid of me that easily." Myotismon laughed eerily. "CRIMSON LIGHTNING!" He created a whip of red sparking electricity in both his hands and struck both Ikkakumon and Togemon with them. "OOF!" Togemon fell to the ground and dedigivolved, Ikkakumon following shortly afterwards. "PALMON!" "GOMAMON!" Mimi and Joe gasped.

Myotismon directed the whips towards the other rookie digimon, which were swept aside and left collapsed on the ground, exhausted. "GABUMON!" Matt cried out as he saw his digimon land heavily. "Sora… I… have to help them…" Biyomon weakly spoke as she sat up. "Absolutely not. It's too dangerous for you right now." Sora hugged Biyomon tightly as she tried to pull away. "Please! I'm the only one who can fight right now!" Biyomon protested. "No… It's too dangerous! Please, understand!" Sora yelled as Biyomon yelled a second later, "YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND!"

Stunned, Sora's arms slackened enough for Biyomon to fly out. Sora began to panic as Biyomon began flying towards Myotismon. "I NEED HELP FROM KINDNESS!" She screamed as Biyomon reached Myotismon. All of a sudden, a rustling occurred in the bushes, and Sora turned to watch the bushes. "HIYAH!" Kangamon came bursting out of the forest, with Ally hot on her tail. "LET'S GO KANGAMON!" Ally yelled as her digivice began to glow. "KANGAMON DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO TUNIPYMON!" Tunipymon proudly slammed her log in front of Myotismon. "BIYOMON DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO BIRDRAMON!" The giant orange-red bird digimon flew into the sky and the two champions stared Myotismon down.

"Sorry I couldn't get here sooner." Ally apologized to Sora. "It's okay… We're in trouble here." Sora told her as she stood up. "I can see. This is Myotismon." Ally nodded, her attention turning to the ensuing battle. Myotismon slowly stood up, having been distracted by Birdramon's Meteor Wing, allowing Tunipymon to smack him down with a series of Branch Crushes. "Enough playing around. CRIMSON LIGHTNING!" The two whips appeared again, and Myotismon threw the two whips at Birdramon and Tunipymon, throwing the two digimon back far. Sora gasped as she saw Birdramon fall. "TUNIPYMON!" Ally cried out in worry. "BIRDRAMON!" Sora was taken back to only a few minutes prior, when Biyomon had been fighting to help. "My mom… She did it all because she loved me…" Sora realized with a start. "That's exactly right, Sora!" Ally nodded passionately. "BIRDRAMON! I LOVE YOU!" Sora began to cry. "TUNIPYMON!" Ally yelled again, hugging Sora as the duos' crests began to glow. "NO!" Myotismon growled angrily.

"BIRDRAMOOOOOOOOOOON!" Birdramon was encased in a cocoon of fire. The fire dispersed at her head first, revealing a red helmet with the Crest of Love engraved in purple on its top, and a feather connected to the helmet. Two braids of golden hair slid out from underneath the helmet, with a long ponytail sliding out behind the helmet. The fire next dispersed around her wings, showing mainly red feathers with the ends being gold and orange. "DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Her torso became visible next, primarily consisting of two different shades of red. On her shoulders, more feathers appeared, and a Japanese text appeared. Her arms were primarily red, with some white, while her hands were golden and orange with her talons trimming themselves down to fine points. "GARUDAMON!" Garudamon's voice dropped greatly as the rest of the fire dispersed, revealing deep red thighs with two white strikes circling the knees encompassing more Japanese text. Finally, her golden and orange talons clicked against the ground powerfully as Garudamon glared at Myotismon.

"TUNIPYMOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON!" Tunipymon struck the ground with her log, sending a large dust cloud into the air. She nearly tripled in size, and the dust cloud dispersed. Tunipymon hefted up a large stone pillar and slammed it into the ground, shattering the pillar and sending the fragments into the sky, where they formed a crescent moon that shined bright yellow light on Tunipymon. Tunipymon's fangs grew larger as her purple eyes changed to a bright red color. White leather shin-guards were formed from the light and strapped themselves on as strange white markings appeared in a circle on her chest. White rings of moonlight attached themselves to her wrists as well. "DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Tunipymon's long tail gained an iron spike, turning it almost into a club. Tunipymon's pouch also gained a protective armor on its front. "WEREKANGAMON!" She growled as boxing gloves appeared on her hands and she swung multiple times.

Myotismon stood in the shadows of the massive two new Ultimate digimon. "Hooooly cow…" Sora gasped as she saw the size of Garudamon and WereKangamon. "WEREKANGAMON! DISTRACT MYOTISMON WHILE GARUDAMON GETS THE DIGIDESTINED AWAY!" Ally yelled and she went to work. "Sora! Your love empowers me! WING BLADE!" Before the Japanese digidestined were picked up by Garudamon, she unleashed a powerful fiery strike upon Myotismon, who was temporarily blinded by the light from the attack. "NOW CHILDREN!" Garudamon yelled and picked up the Japanese digidestined. Sora looked at Ally, clearly worried. "Don't worry, I'll catch up. I always do." Ally smiled and waved Garudamon off.

"HIYAH! RAPIDFIRE MOON PUNCH!" WereKangamon began slamming her boxing gloves into Myotismon as they shined with a bright white light, stunning Myotismon just long enough for the two remaining to get away. "WEREKANGAMON! LET'S GO!" Ally called as she saw Michael's head pop through the trees. "HIYAH!" WereKangamon punched Myotismon once more on the head to stun him while she picked up Ally and placed her in her pouch. "Let's go pick up the others. There's plenty of room in here." Ally gestured to the trees, where WereKangamon ran as fast as she could. "Hey guys! Everyone in!" Ally gestured and they, with WereKangamon's help, began to climb into the pouch.

"I'll ride Trileptimon." Michael spoke up and Chinchilmon nodded. "Okay, just make sure you stick close. We're following Garudamon." Ally nodded. "CHINCHILMON DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO TRILEPTIMON!" Trileptimon stood still while Michael climbed onto his back. "LET'S GO!" Ally yelled as the two digimon raced off into the distance, towards Garudamon and away from the angrily cursing Myotismon.

Both groups of Digidestined are back together, and they've even confronted Myotismon! However, they're still nowhere near home, and their journey has just begun the most treacherous part!

Thanks for reading!


	29. Racing Against Time!

Disclaimer! I own only my OCs and potentially a few of the OC digimon. Everything else is owned by Saban Brands.

Hope you all enjoy and don't forget to review!

Chapter 29

Tai picked up a strange looking pot from the ground and filled it with water from the nearby stream. "How long have we been running from Myotismon now?" He asked Agumon wearily. The orange digimon looked around, half-expecting said digimon to appear at any given point. "It has to have been at least a week…" Agumon replied, turning to Sora for confirmation. The young girl nodded. "That sounds about right." Yokomon hopped up to Sora and jumped onto her foot. "What's up Yokomon?" Sora asked. "They need the water now." The in-training digimon smiled at her friend. "Alright, I'll take that over Tai." Sora took the pot and walked over to the campfire where Joe, Mimi, and Linzi were preparing the large group's lunch.

"Everything alright over here?" Tiffany checked in with Tai. "There's no sign of Myotismon on this side." Tai told her. "Good. I'm just checking in with each of the watches. Izzy said that there seems to be dark clouds gathering on the east side, so we might have to get moving again after lunch." Tiffany relayed the information. "Well, that's not good. At least we've got a good lookout system finally." Agumon sighed and stepped in the stream in an attempt to ease the ache in his feet. "We might be getting a message from Gennai soon as well. Matt and Michael got a message on their digivice that said that Gennai would be talking to us soon." Azuremon looked at the sky as well. "Nothing's up there… It's just been very cloudy ever since yesterday." Tai squinted to get a better look and was shocked when he saw an oval metallic object flying towards the quartet. "Get ready. We don't know what that thing is." Tiffany readied herself to block the object if it was heading for Tai. Instead, the disk flew over the quartet and landed in the clearing where lunch was being cooked. "Let's go." Azuremon pointed and they ran into the clearing.

"We were gonna say that lunch is ready… But then this thing just flew in and interrupted us!" Mimi, clearly irritated, glared at the platform that had embedded itself into the ground. "I think this could be Gennai." Michael looked at his digivice and saw the platform begin to glow. "Yep, it is. Chinchilmon, can you go get Izzy?" Chinchilmon nodded and ducked off into the brush. "Kangamon, why don't you go ahead and get Luke and Ravenmon." Ally walked over to the platform holding a package. "What's in the package?" Matt, having heard the commotion, jumped out of the tree that his lookout perch was in. "It's part of lunch. Instant noodles!" Ally yelled triumphantly and posed with the container of noodles, earning a strange look from Joe. "Go ahead and keep stirring the pot, Palmon, okay? I think Gennai's going to need all of us to pay attention, and you're better at multitasking than I am." Mimi smiled and walked over to the platform as Izzy, Tentomon, and Chinchilmon entered the clearing.

"Let's go ahead and make a circle so Gennai can see us all if he needs to." Tai took charge and directed the digimon in front while their partners stood behind them. "Here comes Luke and Ravenmon." Joe pointed to the brush, where the two plus Kangamon ran quickly. "I hope this is important, because there's more really dark clouds gathering to the southeast." Luke spotted the platform and nodded. "Gennai?" Ravenmon asked. "We're not sure, but it seems to be so." Linzi took over stirring for Palmon as she lifted the metal pot from Mimi's bag off of the fire. A rainbow sheen came over the platform and created a pillar of light to the heavens. "That's Gennai." TK giggled.

The elderly man appeared very quickly, and was surprised by the number of digidestined surrounding him. "Why, hello everyone!" He smiled and the group answered back with a resounding hello. "I see that you have decided to travel together." He nodded. "Not really. We travel in separate groups, but in hearing distance, just in case Myotismon attacks again, which is happening more often than not." Izzy spoke up. "Speaking of such, let's try to make this quick, because Myotismon is coming up on our heels again." Patamon glanced behind him to the dark clouds. "Yes, yes, of course. Now, you all look rather sad and gloomy, so I come bringing both good and bad news." Gennai smiled. "Let's start with the bad news. I hate ending things on a negative note." Joe muttered, getting a laugh out of Gomamon. "You all look like you could use some good news, so we'll start with that." Gennai ignored the boy, who sighed, and continued speaking.

"The good news is that there's another child waiting to join your group!" The group erupted into soft murmurs. "A new child? We'll need more supplies…" Tiffany helped Linzi lift the metal pot as Torpedomon began walking around, letting the other digidestined and their partners grab the noodle containers from her back. "I hope the new child is my size!" TK giggled and put Patamon on his head, squishing his hat slightly. "I hope the new child is my size, so we can switch clothes!" Mimi gasped and tried to check the bag of her shirt for the tag to see her size. "What's the child's name?" Matt asked, with Gabumon looking on in curiosity. "Um… The Child's name is…" Gennai trailed off and Kangamon leaned in. "I forgot." Gennai said abruptly and the group groaned. "Gennai! You always forget this stuff!" Chinchilmon sighed and Michael nodded. "You've got to start taking notes, so you don't forget!" Tentomon buzzed and made Izzy chuckle. "Well, do you know where the child is?" Tai asked, curious. "I do know that! The child lives in Japan, where the Japanese digidestined come from, to be precise." Gennai smiled and nodded.

"Where is Japan?" Gabumon asked. "Japan is a big island in the far east!" Agumon told him, and he nodded. "That still leaves a major problem though. How do we get to Japan?" Ally wondered out loud. "That's part of the bad news." Gennai sighed and turned to the west. "Do you all see that large fortress settled in the mountains over there?" He asked, and the group answered in the positive. "That is Myotismon's Castle. It is my belief that he has been luring you there for some reason or another." "That's fine and all, but it doesn't change the fact that we need to get to the real world." Michael anxiously began pacing around. "Relax. He's about to tell us." Azuremon stopped the boy, who reluctantly stopped moving. "This is the really bad news. You see, Myotismon also knows that the newest child is in Japan, and has been preparing for several months to go to Japan and capture him or her." Gennai turned back to the digidestined. "Wait… So does that mean that Myotismon wants to destroy us now before we can get to Japan?" Ravenmon asked, looking at his partner. "That'd be my guess." Luke agreed. "You are correct. However, the sole way to get to the real world is in Myotismon's Castle. You must infiltrate it and enter the portal that will take you to the real world, where you will be able to find the 8th Japanese digidestined."

"I will travel with you until you reach Myotismon's Castle. At that point, however, the magic over Myotismon's Castle will not allow me to go any further, so you will be on your own once you enter the castle." Gennai nodded slowly. "Did someone say suicide mission?" Tiffany muttered under her breath, earning herself a reproachful look from Azuremon. "Also… Where's Taylor?" Jacob spoke up, breaking his uncharacteristic silence. "Last I saw, she was watching the staring at the clouds in the woods." Caninmon woofed quietly. "Oh shoot, guys, we've got to get moving. Someone go get Taylor, because those clouds are moving fast." Sora began eating her noodles as fast as possible. "We can walk and eat people, just grab your packs if you have one and get moving!" Yokomon chirped, while Linzi helped clean out the pot as fast as possible. "Mimi, this will have to go back into your bag." She smiled at the girl, who nodded. "We're almost home, so anything's possible!" The girl cheerfully smiled and drew a smile out of Torpedomon. "With that optimistic attitude, we can do anything!" Palmon cheered as Taylor walked out of the brush, having been found by Patamon and Ravenmon.

"You alright Taylor? Here, I saved you some noodles." Luke handed the girl a container of water and noodles. "Thanks." She smiled faintly. "Need to talk?" Luke asked, sensing that something was on the girl's mind. "I'm just really confused as to why I was brought here…" She trailed off. "I don't have a digimon partner, so I can't help in that department, nor do I have a special skill, like Izzy's technobabble, or Michael and Ally's sneaking ability." She shrugged. "There must be a reason that you were brought here, because there is a reason for everything. Especially in the digital world." Luke put his hand on her shoulder and rubbed it reassuredely. "Let's hope that the reason becomes clear soon." Taylor smiled softly and reached around to pinch Luke's cheek. "For now, I'll just have to keep everybody's mood up with silly antics!" She laughed and dodged Luke's light punch, sticking her tongue out at him.

"American Digidestined and Taylor! Are we all set to go?" Tiffany yelled as the group began to split in two. "You betcha!" Ally smiled. "Present and accounted for." Torpedomon nodded. "Japanese digidestined, you take the lead and we'll follow." Michael gestured for Tai to take the lead. "Gennai, you should probably go with them so they don't get lost." Jacob smiled and dodged a backhand from Linzi. "Now may not be the time for jokes, okay Jacob?" Linzi huffed and glared at the boy. "Sorry for making a joke, you know… It's kinda who I am." Jacob raised an eyebrow. "Now is really not the time for a fight guys." Luke and Ravenmon got in-between the two. "Now walk." Ravenmon pointed forward as the Japanese digidestined went out of sight. "Remember, eyes open at all times and look for anything that seems off." Michael reminded them, and they nodded. "And maybe let's not lose them this time." Taylor laughed as the group stayed at a steady pace, just close enough to the other group.

"We're all here?" Agumon turned around and counted the heads of digimon and their partners. "Yep, we're all present and accounted for!" Gomamon jumped on Joe's head and sat comfortably. "Let's try to get there as quick as possible." Matt told Tai, who nodded. "The faster we get home, the better. That 8th digidestined for our group needs our help if Myotismon is on his way…" "No, the whole world will need our help if Myotismon is on his way to the real world." Sora corrected him. "At our current speed, we will reach Myotismon's Castle right before dinnertime if my calculations are correct." Izzy closed his laptop and put it in his bag. "Gennai, do you know when Myotismon is leaving for the real world?" TK asked, curious. "Unfortunately, I do not, but my best bet would be either tonight or very early tomorrow." Gennai frowned and shook his head.

IN THE CASTLE

Myotismon stood at his imposing desk in the dark castle, staring down at DemiDevimon. "Taste true pain, idiotic digimon." As DemiDevimon began to scream, a swarm of bats descended from the ceiling and began to bite at the digimon. "You have given me a worthless squadron of digimon headed by the drunkard Nanimon! You also allowed ALL of the Digidestined fools plus the extra to activate their Crests!" Myotismon roared. "I should have you killed right now." Ordering the bats to drop DemiDevimon, the rookie digimon began to sob. "Please, O Terrible One, please let me live!" "Fortunately for you, I still have use for you." Myotismon laughed evilly, cutting himself short when he heard a knock on the door to his study. "Come in." He spoke quietly, but strong enough to be heard. A small, white, feline-like digimon standing on two legs walked in. She had yellow and orange gloves with extremely long claws at the end, and purple tipped ears and tail, capped off with a yellow tail ring.

"Ah, my loyal subject, Gatomon. Report." Myotismon's tone became noticeably more fond. "Of course, My Lord. I have gathered the strongest and most ferocious digimon from throughout the digital world. You have powerful digimon such as Mammothmon, Meramon, Diatrymon, Ginkakumon, SkullMeramon, MegaSeadramon, Raremon, and, best of all, one of the Digimon Devas, Vajramon, and many other powerful digimon." Gatomon bowed deeply. "Wonderful. That is truly wonderful. We will have no trouble finding the 8th child with these forces. The human world will be mine!" Myotismon began to laugh again. "You two are dismissed. DemiDevimon, if you fail me once more, I will destroy you permanently." Gatomon laughed quietly at DemiDevimon's face. "Just you wait, Gatomon, you'll get what's coming to you…" DemiDevimon growled and flew off into the castle.

A white ghost digimon with a comical face floated through the bookcase and handed Myotismon a deck of cards. "Lord Myotismon, the ceremonial chamber is prepared for your inspection. We Bakemon have finished our last minute polishes." He bowed, and Myotismon smiled. "Good." He waved his hand and a secret door appeared on the bookcase, opening itself. As Myotismon walked down the path to the chamber, the Bakemon decided to follow him, wanting to check the final product. "If you don't mind me asking, Lord Myotismon, but what is this for?" The Bakemon leader quietly asked Myotismon as the evil digimon placed the card stack on a podium near the giant stone doors. "This… This is our portal into the human world… It is the gateway to taking over both the human and digital world!" Myotismon grinned evilly and began to slowly place down the cards into the three by three indent. "Mwahahaha… MWAHAHAHAHA! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Myotismon began to laugh. "GATOMON! PREPARE MY FORCES! WE LEAVE IN ONE HOUR!" He hollered and walked back up to his private quarters, closing the door behind him, hearing Gatomon purring quietly to the Bakemon.

OUTSIDE OF THE CASTLE

"We need eyes on the inside…" Tai stared up at the imposing Castle. "Two or three of the digimon can infiltrate if we need to." Agumon offered. "Yeah! I'll go up there and lift two other digimon up so we can see what's up there." Palmon smiled. "Alright Palmon, if you want to." Mimi gave her partner a hug. "I'll go with you Palmon." Agumon offered. "I'll come too!" Chinchilmon hopped up to the two digimon. "Be safe, Chinchilmon." Michael reminded him. "Of course. I wouldn't dream of doing anything silly." Chinchilmon scampered up to the wall. "Let's go!" Palmon reached up with her vines and quickly pulled her way up the castle wall, sending her vines back down for Agumon and Chinchilmon. "Let's go you two." Palmon, Agumon, and Chinchilmon ran towards the open doorway. "Good luck guys!" Tiffany called out to the three digimon. "We'll be careful!" Chinchilmon called back as they vanished into the castle.

The three digimon stepped into the Castle, unsure of what to expect. "Let's be very quiet now…" Agumon stepped forward and stuck his head around the corner, immediately pulling it back, eyes wide. "There are a lot of crazy strong digimon in here…" "What are they?" Palmon asked. "To put it simply, there's a Deva, Vajramon, in there, along with several other Ultimate digimon…" Agumon stepped away from the corner. "So we've got to find another way to get to the area where the digidestined can get home from." Chinchilmon pointed to another door that was open. "Well, this can't hurt to try." Agumon shrugged and the trio of digimon walked into the open doorway.

"This looks like an office…" Palmon jumped up onto the desk and looked at it. "These papers look important… I'll hold onto them." She grabbed the papers and accidentally hit a button on the desk. "Woah!" Chinchilmon gasped and covered his mouth quickly as a passageway opened in the bookcase. "Quick, let's check it out." Agumon began running down the staircase that had appeared when the button was hit. While the trio ran down the staircase, they began to hear the sounds of angry and powerful digimon. "Let's be quiet." Palmon's eyes widened and she stopped the other two from going any farther. "We can't go any farther. Look! It's the digimon walking through a portal… I bet that's the portal to the human world." Palmon pointed to the podium. "Quick, we've got to get the others!" The trio ran up the stairs again and right out the way they came.

"GUYS!" Palmon yelled as they ran outside on the top floor. "We've got to move quickly!" She threw her vines down and Chinchilmon began to explain. "We managed to find the portal room, but it's currently being inhabited by so many powerful digimon. They're all going through the portal, which means we're in super big trouble!" Agumon finished as Michael and TK were dropped off at the top. "Biyomon, Patamon, Tentomon, Ravenmon, can you four team up to help get people up here?" Sora asked the four digimon. "We're on it!" They cried and picked her up, lifting her to the top of the wall. "Let's be quick guys!" Ally yelled as Palmon pulled Tiffany and Azuremon up. "Gennai…" Matt nodded at the elder. "My power cannot follow you into the Castle. Good luck, digidestined!" "And Taylor!" Taylor excitedly started climbing up Palmon's vines as Kangamon hung on for dear life. The number of people at the bottom of the wall slowly decreased until both groups were all at the top. "Follow us!" Chinchilmon and Agumon took the lead as the group ran into the castle, hearing the roars of the powerful digimon.

"Down this hallway. Japanese digidestined first!" Agumon rushed them through. "Let's go team." Tai told the Japanese digidestined. "Love is ready." Sora told their leader. "Knowledge and Friendship are ready." Izzy relayed. "Sincerity and Hope are good to go!" Mimi smiled and TK nodded. "Reliability is as ready as I'll ever be!" Joe looked around nervously. "Let's take a look." Tai opened the door and saw the last of the digimon passing through. "LET'S GO!" Tai yelled as the last of the digimon passed through the door. The Japanese digidestined hopped into the room and began to run towards the portal. "Stop right there!" DemiDevimon flapped down from the ceiling and glared at the Japanese digidestined. "Move out of the way DemiDevimon, you big meanie!" TK yelled. "That's not very nice, little digidestined brat!" DemiDevimon swooped down towards TK, but was stopped by Matt. "Back off!" He yelled at DemiDevimon. Gabumon growled and jumped up towards DemiDevimon. "GABUMON DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO GARURUMON!" The Champion-level digimon growled and stared at DemiDevimon. "HOWLING BLASTER!" The attack struck DemiDevimon and the digimon flew into the portal, knocked out.

"Meeerrrrrrow! How adorable that you beat DemiDevimon!" Gatomon did a backflip and appeared out from the wall. "Who are you?!" Joe gasped, and Gatomon laughed. "I'm Gatomon, Lord Myotismon's lead general." The cat digimon purred softly. "My job is to make sure you don't make it through." She raised her tail and her tail ring began to shine a bright yellow light, matching the light that was coming from the strange statues at the side of the room. "Have fun with my little pets!" Gatomon jumped back to block the stone doorway. "You won't be getting past these Devidramon! They're powerful digimon who will rip you to shreds if you let them get close." She licked her paw and fixed her fur.

"Agumon! It's time to digivolve!" Tai yelled. "You too, Tentomon!" Izzy nodded. "Gomamon, let's give it a go!" Joe smiled. "AGUMON DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO GREYMON!" "TENTOMON DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO KABUTERIMON!" "GOMAMON DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO IKKAKUMON!" The three champion digimon plus the already-digivolved Garurumon growled at the four Devidramon statues. "Bye bye digidestined!" Gatomon laughed cruelly and walked into the portal as it began to close quickly. "HURRY! LET'S GO!" Tai began to run towards the portal, only to be blocked by the Devidramon. "NOVA BLAST!" Greymon's powerful attack blasted one of the Devidramon to the side as it roared in anger. "GRAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" The dark digimon shot lasers out of its eyes and hit Greymon. "Oof!" The digimon flew back and hit the wall. "PALMON DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO TOGEMON!" Palmon saw Greymon get hurt and quickly digivolved to help the dinosaur digimon.

"THIS IS THE POINT OF NEEDLE SPRAY!" Togemon stunned the Devidramon just enough for the other four digimon to start attacking. "NOVA BLAST!" Greymon struck the same Devidramon as before and managed to destroy it. "HOWLING BLASTER!" Garurumon threw another Devidramon into the Devidramon that Togemon and Kabuterimon were facing off against, letting them get two more powerful hits off on it. "NEEDLE SPRAY!" "ELECTRO SHOCKER!" The two champion digimon destroyed the second and third Devidramon. "HARPOON TORPEDO!" Ikkakumon's powerful attack destroyed the Devidramon almost immediately, crushing it into the wall and unintentionally slamming the giant stone doors shut. "NO!" Tai yelled as he made it to the door right as it closed, slamming his fist on it.

"We were too late…" Sora gasped. "Togemon, that was great work!" Mimi praised her partner, who dedigivolved, along with the rest of the digimon. "I'm sorry Joe…" Gomamon sighed and looked at the ground, having closed the door with the strength of his attack. "Hey, it's okay Gomamon. There's no worries." Joe hugged Gomamon and turned to the rest of the digidestined, slowly being joined by the American digidestined and Taylor. "Well… What do we do now?" Matt asked, staring at the closed door. "Um… Let's go back outside and see if Gennai has any answers for us." Tiffany suggested. "That's a good idea." Taylor agreed and the group began to walk outside.

"Palmon, you up for helping everyone get down again?" Mimi asked as Gennai's holographic transporter appeared in front of the Castle. "Sure, I'll give it a go." Palmon smiled, feeling the sting of failing to help her partner get home. "Hey, you gave it your best shot in there. Don't feel bad." Mimi smiled and hugged her partner. "Thanks… I'll try harder next time." Palmon promised and Mimi giggled. "Let's go everyone!" She called as Palmon stretched out her vines to the ground. "It'll be easier if everyone just slides to the ground." Palmon explained. "Come on TK." Matt picked up his younger brother and held onto him as the two went down on the same vine. "Gennai's waiting for us guys. We've got to be quick." Michael sighed. Chinchilmon slid halfway down the vine and jumped off, running over to Gennai. "We tried Gennai, but it was Gatomon who stopped us." He explained.

Luke stared sadly at Ravenmon, who looked broken. "Gatomon… Why would you give in?" Ravenmon muttered. "Something tells me that it wasn't her fault, Ravenmon." Ravenmon sighed, and Luke hugged his friend. "Trust me. I think Myotismon did something to her. If what she was like with you was true, then there's no way that she could be naturally acting like this." Luke smiled softly and Ravenmon perked up a little bit. "We can rescue her. It's just going to take a bit of work on our part." Luke nodded and the two headed down the vine.

"Hey Gennai." Azuremon nodded and Gennai immediately began speaking once they had all gotten down off of the Castle. "I know that you must have failed, but there is still a chance for you to get home. You must come to my home immediately." Gennai spoke quickly. "Where is your home?" Sora asked. "Izzy, I have transferred a map to my home to your laptop. It's not too far from here, and you'll know that it's my home when you see it. Do hurry. The fates of both our worlds are at stake." Gennai nodded and the transmission flickered off. "Well… You heard the man… Let's get going." Linzi nodded confidently and began walking as Izzy opened his laptop to get the map to Gennai's house.

The Digidestined Groups failed to get back to the Real World, but fortunately for them, Gennai might have an alternate way to get home! However, there's no telling what Myotismon will do while they're trapped in the Digital World!


	30. Return to the Real World!

Disclaimer! I own only my OCs and potentially a few of the OC digimon. Everything else is owned by Saban Brands.

Hope you all enjoy and don't forget to review!

A/N: I'm terribly sorry for how long it took me to upload this chapter! The past two weeks have flown by for me with school starting to fully kick into full gear. I'll try to be more consistent, but just know that if I don't upload, it's not because I've abandoned the story Much love

Try Chapter 30

The two groups of digidestined combined into one large group for time's sake. As Myotismon had left the digital world, not many digimon on Server could withstand the full power of both of the digidestined groups. Myotismon's castle was now far in the distance, and the digidestined could feel the sting of defeat. "The last time I felt this bad was when Etemon kicked our butts the very first time and destroyed the Koromon village…" Sora sighed. "Remember guys, we can still stop Myotismon! We've just got to get back to our world, and Gennai said he had a plan for that. Let's not get super down and out already!" Linzi smiled and hugged Sora, who shrugged. "Knowing Gennai, he's probably already forgotten his plan, so we'll have to help him brainstorm some ideas." Jacob smiled in laughter and Linzi nodded at the boy. Torpedomon looked around the group and saw that the majority of the digidestined were clearly very upset. The seal-like digimon hopped up to Linzi and began whispering intently to the girl.

"Hey, why don't we sing a song?" Mimi smiled and looked around, hoping for a positive reaction. "Maybe not now, Mimi…" Joe shook his head, and Mimi sighed as the majority of the group echoed his sentiments. "Well, we can't exactly mope all day because we didn't make one of our chances to get back home. We still have Gennai's idea! Forgetful or not, he hasn't led us wrong so far." Tai smiled at Mimi, and she nodded. "That's exactly right, Tai! Come on everybody, let's cheer up a bit so we can be at our very best for Gennai's idea." Tiffany agreed with Tai, starting to turn the trend around. "We're all fighters here, so there's no reason that we should give up now." Ally, with a determined look on her face, slung her arm around Sora's shoulder. "Fighters never quit." TK told Matt, who nodded as well. "That's the attitude! We can do anything if we put our minds to it." Mimi cheered as they began to pick up the pace, no longer dragging.

At the back of the group, Ravenmon flew on, still melancholy after the encounter with Gatomon. He landed on Luke's shoulder and snuggled up to the teen. "Hey bud." Luke smiled at his partner, who only sighed. "We'll get her back. I promise." Luke told his friend. Taylor, walking next to the two, picked Ravenmon up and began to cuddle the bird digimon. "Hey little guy… Don't you worry a thing about it. Gatomon will snap out of it right away when she sees you, I'm sure of it." Ravenmon made a soft chirping noise and promptly fell asleep. Luke's jaw dropped and Taylor giggled quietly at the expression on his face. "Why does he fall asleep for you?" He protested. "It's a woman's touch!" Tiffany smiled and laughed at Luke's annoyed huff.

"Come on Joe! You heard everyone, we can't mope all day!" Gomamon jumped around his partner, who continued walking onward dejectedly. "Yeah, come on Joe. I know you're upset about not being able to get back home, but Gennai is sure to have another opportunity for us." Izzy, his laptop with Tai near the front of the group, dropped back to try to cheer Joe up. "Well… That's the thing…" Joe sighed and looked at Izzy. "We've been gone for so long that everything is sure to have changed... Even if nothing's changed in the real world, we've changed. I've forgotten everything I know about everything that I learned last year in school, and I'm absolutely doomed for the test that's coming up at the beginning of this school year." Joe sighed. "I'm basically doomed to a future as a male nurse when my parents want me to become a doctor." The digidestined of reliability quickly said and, realizing what he had said, shut up, looking down at the ground.

Izzy exchanged glances with Tentomon, who looked concerned for Joe. "Joe, if it'll make you feel any better, Tai did say that almost no time had passed when he went back to the real world after defeating Etemon. Plus, I'd be more than willing to help you study for any test that you have, especially if it means that you get the job that you want." Izzy offered, getting a nod from Tentomon. "Precisely! We'll all help each other adjust as best as we can to the new world." Tentomon buzzed and flew around, looking for any digimon. "Thanks guys… I just hope we can get home soon…" Joe, feeling better than he was before, gave a faint smile, allowing Gomamon to cheer him up even more.

"Look up ahead! It's a giant lake!" TK pointed ahead of the group and squealed happily. "We can rest our feet in it!" Palmon smiled, giving Mimi a hug. "My feet have been really sore, I guess." Mimi conceded. "Well, here's the good news guys. It seems that Gennai's house is very near here too." Tai smiled, giving Izzy his laptop back. "There's nothing except the lake for miles though…" Agumon questioned, looking around. "Look in the lake, everyone! We went to Gennai's house once before, and his house was in the lake that time." Chinchilmon directed their attention to the center of the lake. "The coordinates for Gennai's house do lead straight into the lake." Izzy nodded at Tai, who shrugged. "If my fur gets wet, it'll stink up a storm, and I don't think any of us want that…" Gabumon protested going through the water. "There's a barrier too in the lake too. It doesn't look like any of us could get past it." Biyomon pointed out the translucent white barrier.

"Let me try something." Azuremon spoke quietly but firmly, and he moved to the lakeshore. He knelt on one knee and put one of his hands to the ground, bowing his head. 'Digital Mother, Gennai has called for us to enter his home. We request your assistance to do so.' He put out a small pulse of energy, getting a response immediately. 'Understood. Thank you, Digital Mother.' Azuremon stood up and turned to the group. "We shall be able to reach Gennai's house soon." He nodded and returned to Tiffany's side. "The Digital Mother will create a bridge for us to pass to his home." "That's great!" Matt smiled and his jaw dropped as a descending stone path rose from the lake, a barrier encompassing it so it wasn't covered by water. "Let's go everyone! Make sure we stay in a group." Michael took charge momentarily and led the digidestined began to walk down the path. "Remember everyone, have faith that we will return to the real world and that we will defeat Myotismon." Azuremon nodded and made sure that everyone made it under the water before beginning to walk down himself.

It was a short walk down to the center of the lake, taking the digidestined group a short time to get to Gennai's house. Kangamon and Ally walked up to the door and knocked as loud as they could on it. They stared at the door, waiting for the elderly man to open it, only for the door to swing open towards the two, startling them and making them fall back. "Eek!" Ally gasped and Michael was there in a second. "Gennai!" He yelled, and Gennai appeared at the doorway, smiling genially. "Yes? How wonderful of you to come so quickly! Come in, come in. There is food in the sitting room." Gennai walked back into his house and Michael sighed, helping Ally up off the ground while Chinchilmon helped Kangamon up.

"Everyone, come on in and sit down." Tiffany directed the digidestined into the sitting room, where Gennai was already eating. "Welcome, digidestined." Gennai quieted the room. "And Taylor!" Taylor added, slowly growing annoyed. Gennai took no heed of the girl's annoyance and continued on talking. "Now, we will talk after you finish eating. You have worked extremely hard while in the digital world, and you deserve a short break." The group cheered and began to eat. Linzi glanced over at Michael and saw the boy slowly eating food that Ally had put on his plate, drawing a pout from the teen and causing Linzi to laugh quietly. Chinchilmon, Kangamon, and Torpedomon also were eating off to the side, keeping an eye on the door and their partners.

Luke smiled as he saw that Taylor was feeding Ravenmon, making sure that the digimon wasn't completely neglecting himself in his melancholiness. He sat down next to the two and smiled at Ravenmon, who cawed quietly at Luke. "How are ya holding up?" Luke turned to his other side and began talking to Joe. "I'm very nervous. I've lost a lot of the knowledge that I had at the beginning of our journey." Joe was still very much on edge. "I thought I heard you talking to Izzy about that." Luke smiled. "And I have to agree with him, adding on something. It's your choice as to what you want to be, despite what you may think." Joe nodded. "It's confusing for me, you know? I want to make my parents happy, but I also want to be happy and not always so stressed out like I am." Joe shrugged. "I understand that completely. Wanting to please your parents and your family is one of the things that I always struggled with too." Luke patted Joe on the shoulder. "It is your choice as to what to do, but you know that I'm going to support you regardless of what you decide." Joe smiled at Luke. "Thanks… I really appreciate that." The two laughed and continued eating.

Tiffany and Azuremon ate primarily in silence, listening to Tai, Matt, and Sora talk and argue about what Gennai's idea would be. "it's obvious that he has one of those gates at his house." Tai stared down Matt, who snorted in laughter. "He probably has a way of getting the gate at Myotismon's castle to open, so he'll probably be giving us something to open the gate there." Matt reasoned, trying to not laugh at Tai's expression. "What do you think Sora?" He asked the girl, who thought for a second. "I think that Matt's right. If Gennai had a gate like that, he probably would've had us come to his house instead of going to Myotismon's Castle. If he did have one and still had us go to Myotismon's Castle, it doesn't make much sense." Sora smiled at Tai, who glared at Matt. "Gabumon, are you getting enough to eat?" Matt, choosing to ignore Tai, asked his partner, who nodded. "The food is so yummy…" Gabumon lied down on his back, full to the top. "The food is divine!" Biyomon flew up in the air and did a twirl. "The food is simply scrumptious!" Agumon fell over as well, making the three humans laugh.

TK and Patamon were supervised by Matt as they ate to their heart's content, giggling as they tried to beat each other in finishing their plates. "Be careful that you don't eat so fast that you get a stomachache." Matt warned his little brother, who nodded. "I'll be careful." TK smiled. "Too cute!" Mimi giggled as she and Palmon watched the exchange between the two brothers. "Gennai, we're almost all done." Izzy let him know. "Ah yes. That is good timing, then, as I am also finished." Gennai put down his plate, which was still full of food. "Uhm, Gennai, your plate is still full though." Tentomon pointed out, but was stopped by Gennai scarfing down the rest of his plate, shocking the digidestined of knowledge and his partner. "Everyone, if you'll please turn your attention this way!" Gennai stood up and raised his voice, quieting the room.

"Now, as I'm sure you all know, Myotismon is currently in Japan right now after his successful walk through the gate." Gennai created a bubble that showed Myotismon standing on top of a building in Odaiba, Japan. "You tried your best to get through with him, but unfortunately, you weren't able to achieve this, through no fault of your own. Gatomon is a very strong digimon for the champion level, and her strength is only increased by her Holy Ring." Gennai brought back the memories of their battle with Gatomon and the Devidramon. "You said that you had a way for us to get through to the real world." Tai cut to the chase. "Yes, that is correct. To get to the real world and to open the massive stone door, Myotismon used a series of cards in a certain pattern to unlock the door." Gennai waved his hand and the bubble changed to show the stone door and the stone podium.

"Okay, so is there a way for us to open that door? We don't have those cards." Linzi spoke up. "That's where you're wrong." Gennai smiled and pulled out a deck of cards. "These ten cards are the deck that Myotismon used. However, one of the cards is a fake, as there are only nine slots for the cards on the podium." Gennai dropped the news. "Well, what are we waiting for? We've got the cards, we know where the castle it, so let's go back and get into the real world." Jacob stood up. "Sit. Down." Caninmon pulled the boy down, making him fall. "You are all very tired, so you should rest here for tonight, and head off in the morning." Gennai nodded, and pointed to the left side of the room. "There are rooms over there, and please, do not go exploring during the night." Gennai asked that of the group. Michael laughed and nodded. "No worries, we won't go out." He smiled. "Also, Izzy, I would like to talk to you before you go to sleep. Meet me in the library." Gennai walked into said room, and the group of digidestined split up into the rooms.

The boys crowded into their room, with the digimon staying on the floor while the boys sat on the beds or stood around the beds. "Alright, we'll need to get to sleep early tonight so that we can head out early in the morning." Luke nodded. "It's already getting late because we left Myotismon's castle very late, so everyone, go ahead and get ready to sleep." Michael smiled and picked up Chinchilmon. "Izzy, Gennai needed to see you in the library, remember?" TK pushed the boy out of the room. "Bedtime!" Patamon pulled TK back into the room, giggling, and Matt helped the boy into his bed. "Quiet time." He stared around the room, his gaze lingering on Tai and Jacob. "Got it." Tai muttered quietly while Jacob nodded, miming zipping his mouth shut.

In the girls' room, they were already settling down and trying to get to sleep. "Early to bed, early to rise!" Mimi sang as Sora curled up in a ball next to Biyomon as the two tried to fall asleep quickly. "Tiff." Ally gestured her over to herself and Linzi. "What's up?" Tiffany whispered as Kangamon and Torpedomon both fell asleep quickly. "We're worried about Matt, Tai, and Sora." Linzi began talking as quietly as she could, trying to not disturb Mimi, Sora, and Taylor. "What about them? I was watching them during dinner earlier and didn't really notice anything super duper alarming outside of Matt and Tai's normal rivalry." Tiffany checked the door, as the trio of girls were very near to it. "Have you not noticed how protective Matt's getting of Sora?" Linzi asked, and Tiffany gasped. "Oooooh, yep. I see what you're getting at now." The oldest girl looked around and pulled out a small notebook from her bag. "Here. I made a list of stuff that I've noticed ever since we all got back together." Tiffany gave the notebook to Ally and Linzi, who quickly read through it.

"Yep, this is all the stuff that we've noticed to." Linzi nodded. "Now, the biggest issue with this is their age, and Tai. Ally and I think that Tai is secretly crushing on Sora, even though I don't think he realizes it. Do you see how aggressive he gets when Sora is involved?" Linzi seemed worried. "Yeah, I see that. But have you seen that Matt is way more calm when Sora is around too?" Tiffany countered. "That's totally true… We'll have to keep an eye on that whole situation, because relationships are dangerous things when we're in a tough situation like this." Ally nodded. "Alright, let's get some sleep then." Tiffany smiled and the girls got in bed.

"Ah, Izzy! I'm glad you came." Gennai turned around when Izzy walked into the room. "You needed to talk to me." Izzy nodded and Gennai pointed to the wall of books. "This is my library. It contains many books on the history of the digital world. However, this isn't what I wanted to talk to you about." Gennai pulled up a chair. "Here. Sit down. We need to talk about these cards." The elderly man also pulled out the deck of cards and spread them out on the table. "Do you have your laptop with you?" "Yes, I brought it with me in case I needed it." Izzy showed Gennai his laptop and placed it on the table. "Now, this could be a little bit, so if you need to stand up to stay awake, just let me know." Gennai smiled and began to talk.

The Next Morning

"Everyone, it's time to go!" Gennai opened the doors to the rooms, revealing the sleeping digidestined, their partners, and Taylor. Michael and Azuremon were quickly awake and ready to go, sitting down in the sitting room waiting for the others. Matt, Izzy, Tentomon, and Gabumon followed them out, while Ally and Kangamon were the first out for the girls. "Let's get moving everyone!" Tiffany roused Mimi and Taylor, who groaned and slowly sat up, very tired. "Come on Mimi! We've got to get going!" Palmon pulled the young girl out of bed with her vines while Taylor was helped up by Sora.

Sooner rather than later, the large group of digidestined and Taylor were finishing up the small breakfast that Gennai had for them. "Now, you must go back to Myotismon's Castle to the exact same room where you faced off against the Devidramon." Gennai made a bubble appear, showing the same room. "Izzy will know what to do once you get to the podium." Jacob turned to Izzy, who was deep in thought. "Myotismon could also have left some digimon there to protect the door and prevent you from going through it. However, your combined strength is more than enough to handle anything that he can throw at you." Gennai nodded sagely. "Now, quickly! You must be off!" He ushered the group out of his house. "Myotismon's castle is up the path and through the forest, just where it was when you left it." Gennai stood there as the digidestined group walked off into the forest, nodding confidently. "Digital Mother, have faith in them. They were chosen as the digidestined for a reason." He murmured quietly, and a quiet glow appeared next to him, slowly removing the stone path and covering Gennai's house up with water.

In the Castle

"This is the room…" Tai stared at the door, the Devidramon statues gone. "We're all in this together." Tiffany put a hand on his shoulder. "That's exactly right! We'll make it through this together." Chinchilmon ran up to the door and jumped up on it, striking a pose as he jumped off of it. "That's the spirit everyone! Let's get that door opened!" Jacob smiled and ran up to the podium. "Izzy, let's get this started." Luke nodded at the boy, who stepped up to the podium with Tentomon and laid the cards out so that he could see them. "Last night, Gennai upgraded my laptop so that it could give information on the various digimon that we've encountered once I've downloaded the data from the person's digivice." Izzy pulled out his laptop. "What are the possible connections between these digimon?" Tentomon stared at the slots on the podium, very confused. "Maybe they're connected by size?" Joe suggested, moving the cards around rather haphazardly.

"That doesn't look right. Maybe by strength." Matt moved the cards around again, making more sense, but still not quite right. "Alphabetical order would make the most sense to me." Taylor shrugged and moved the digimon cards around again. "Again, that still doesn't seem right…" Izzy sighed and looked to Tai. "You do it Tai. You're the leader." Sora suggested. "What? Me? Who made me the leader?" Tai stammered and stared at the cards in front of him. "Well, when you went to the real world, only you coming back to the Digital World brought us back together." Patamon pointed out. "Yeah, that's right! You helped rescue both TK and Mimi too!" Palmon smiled and nodded. "You're the best one for the job, Tai. They've made up their minds." Agumon cheerfully stated and Tai sighed.

"Well, in that case… I get to make whatever decision in regards to the cards that I want, right?" He clarified to the digidestined. "That's right. We trust you, no matter what happens." Biyomon chirped. "In that case… My decision is…" Tai thought quickly. "My decision is that I want Izzy to do it." He stated plainly, shocking Izzy. "Really? Why me?" The digidestined of knowledge looked surprised. "You're the one with the biggest brain and the most common sense here, so it should be you." Tai explained his sound reasoning. "Very mature of you, Tai. Good decision." Tiffany smiled. "Alright, I'll give it a shot…" Izzy stared down at the cards. "Gomamon, Agumon, Digitammamon, ShogunGeckomon, Andromon, Unimon, Gazimon, Elecmon, Drimogemon, and Kuwagamon. What's the pattern here?" Izzy stared at the cards, remembering what Gennai had taught him the night before. "Has anyone seen both Digitammamon and ShogunGeckomon? I've got all the other digimon, but I need those two to find the pattern." Izzy asked. "I've seen them." Linzi handed the boy her digivice, and watched as he plugged it into his computer and downloaded the data on the two ultimate level digimon.

"What's that rumbling sound?" Matt turned to the main entrance of the chamber. "That sure doesn't sound good…" Michael looked upwards, watching small pebbles fall through the ceiling. "TAKE COVER!" Ally yelled, seeing what he saw. "CHINCHILMON!" Michael yelled as the ceiling broke and a digimon fell through. "ON IT!" Chinchilmon jumped up to meet the digimon, Michael's digivice glowing. "CHINCHILMON DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO TRILEPTIMON!" Trileptimon tackled the falling spider-like digimon away from the group. "ASTIRE STRIKE!" Trileptimon fired off an attack and stunned the digimon. "GRAH! That's Dokugumon! She's a champion level digimon who is known for her powerful poison! Her Poison Thread attack will wrap you up so fast that you won't know what hit you!" Trileptimon dodged said attack and growled at the digimon. "DOKUNEMON CALL!" Dokugumon screeched harshly and the group was quickly surrounded by Dokunemon coming in from the walls. "Dokunemon, a rookie level digimon that when encountered in large numbers, can be quite dangerous. It's Poison Claw attack matches it's mother's Poison Thread." Matt's digivice activated and read off the description.

"Time for you to help Gabumon!" He yelled as his digivice began to glow. "GABUMON DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO GARURUMON!" The wolf-like digimon landed powerfully, knocking back many of the Dokunemon. "HOWLING BLASTER!" His attack flew at Dokugumon, stunning it long enough for the Dokunemon to surround it. "ASTIRE STRIKE!" Trileptimon disrupted the Dokunemon, forcing them to gather elsewhere. "Yokomon, digivolve and help them out!" Sora yelled as the Dokunemon crept up on the two champion-level digimon. "YOKOMON DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO BIYOMON!" The rookie digimon quickly flew in the air alongside Tentomon and Ravenmon. "SPIRAL TWISTER!" "SUPER SHOCKER!" "FIRE SPRAY!" The trio of attacks blew the Dokunemon back from Trileptimon and Garurumon.

TK beckoned to Patamon to come down to him. "Patamon, go check on the hallway to see if there's any more digimon." He told his partner. "I'm on it!" Patamon smiled and began to fly around the battling digimon. "Linzi, Patamon is going to go see what's causing the shaking still." TK told Linzi to let the girl know what was going on. "Awesome. Hey Izzy, we're going to need you to hurry up! The Dokugumon and Dokunemon are starting to make the cave collapse!" Linzi yelled and Izzy nodded. "I've almost got it done…" He muttered and began moving around the cards quickly. Patamon came flying back quickly, moving ahead of the collapsing cave. "HEY GUYS! BAD NEWS! THE CAVE IS COLLAPSING!" Patamon yelled. "IZZY!" Tai yelled. "I've almost got it!" Izzy yelled, placing the last cards down. "Tai! This is your decision." He stepped to the side and let Tai look at the cards. "You have to pick between either Gomamon or Agumon. Everything else has to be correct." Izzy confidently nodded.

"HURRY!" Michael yelled at Tai as Garurumon and Trileptimon were caught in Dokugumon's Poison Thread. "GARURUMON!" Matt watched his partner get taken out with despair. "TRILEPTIMON! NOW'S THE TIME!" Michael yelled determinedly. "GRAH!" Michael and Matt's digivices began glowing.

"GARURUMON!" The four-legged wolf-like creature stood up on his hind legs and a pair of tattered blue jeans appeared, with leather pads appearing over his kneecaps. A pair of fingerless gloves appeared on both of his hands, while on the left arm, a protective layer of dark blue mesh appeared. "DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" His left shoulder became encased in a brown, metallic looking-sphere that created a leather strap that crossed his torso diagonally to reach the top of his jeans. A pair of shin guards with metal spikes also appeared, while a metal chain wrapped itself around his right forearm. "WEREGARURUMON!"

"TRILEPTIMON!" Trileptimon's cream tails turned to a scarlet color and merged back together into only four tails. His brown fur also lightened up and became a dirty red color, creating a dazzling light with the six orbs surrounding his midsection. The orbs also changed, pressing themselves into Trileptimon's body and becoming royal blue circle markings. "DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Trileptimon's eyes changed from their sharp blue to match the royal blue markings on his midsection. He also gained a saddle on his back that held two scarlet spheres, matching the color of his tails. "GRAH!" The ground around Trileptimon shifted and shined with a royal blue light, contrasting beautifully with his fur and tails. "ENIGMON!"

The two Ultimate-level digimon broke out of Dokugumon's Poison Thread. "NOW!" Tiffany yelled as the cave began collapsing. "TAI, YOU'VE GOTTA PICK SOMETHING!" Agumon yelled at his partner, who picked up a card. "Agumon, sorry bud, but it's Gomamon's time to shine!" Tai discarded Agumon's card and placed Gomamon's card in the final slot. The slots now held Gomamon in the top left, followed by Elecmon on top in the middle, and then Gazimon in the far right on top. Underneath Gomamon was Unimon, while Drimogemon was next to Unimon, and Kuwagamon followed Drimogemon. In the bottom left, Andromon was placed down, followed by Digitammamon in the bottom middle, leaving ShogunGeckomon as the final card in the bottom right. "LET'S GO! EVERYONE MOVE!" Jacob used his loud voice to direct the digidestined's attention to the opening door.

"GO GO GO!" Joe ran through, followed by Mimi, Linzi, and Ally. "ENIGMON, WEREGARURUMON, FINISH IT NOW!" Michael and Matt yelled. "GRAH! WOLF CLAW!" "HIYAH! BLAST ENERGO!" The two powerhouse Ultimates slammed their attacks into Dokugumon and the Dokunemon, destroying the vast majority of them and blowing the remaining digimon back, to be crushed by the falling ceiling. Weregarurumon dedigivolved into Tsunomon, while Enigmon dedigivolved into Frenmon. "Let's go!" The two digidestined of friendship caught their partners and ran through the portal, being the last two to exit the Digital World. "Real World, here we come!" Michael smiled and laughed.

The Digidestined have entered the Real World, along with their Digimon friends! However, they don't know where they are, or how to get back to Odaiba. Plus, Myotismon is still standing in their way! How will they ever overcome their newest challenges?


	31. Home

Disclaimer! I own only my OCs and potentially a few of the OC digimon. Everything else is owned by Saban Brands.

Hope you all enjoy and don't forget to review!

Try Chapter 31

Mimi opened her eyes to see the blinding sun above her. "Are we… Home?" She looked around, having landed on her feet. "It sure seems like it." Tai, standing near her, spoke up. "There's the cabin." He pointed to the wooden building. "Where are our digimon?" Mimi wondered, standing on her tiptoes to get a better view. "Over here, Mimi!" The two ran up to the cabin and looked behind it, seeing their partners waiting for them there. "Palmon! We're back in our world!" Mimi squealed and hugged her friend. "Have you found any of the others?" Agumon asked. "Nope. We just appeared there and we saw you guys." Tai answered, looking around. "We thought we saw Michael and Ally, but they ran off towards more humans…" Palmon told the two. "I wonder where they're going…" Mimi glanced off towards the lake.

Ally and Michael, along with their digimon partners, snuck around another cabin to see TK, Matt, and their partners getting on to a bus. "Woah!" Frenmon gasped, and suddenly became very still as a shadow loomed over them. "Aren't you kids supposed to be getting on the bus?" Michael snapped to attention and turned around quickly. "Of course sir, we'll be getting on once we find our friends." He bowed quickly. "Very well! I will go look for them." The man nodded and walked off, leaving Ally to breathe a sigh of relief. "You think fast on your feet." Kangamon whispered, trying to not draw attention to herself. "Okay, while we're here guys, I guess you've got to act as stuffed animals or something… So to not draw attention to ourselves. We're lucky that we were mistaken as campers, but we should probably be safe, rather than sorry." Michael began to walk towards the bus, carrying Frenmon and waiting for Ally at the bus itself.

Joe and Sora, already sitting on the bus, looked around anxiously, waiting for their friends to show up. "There's TK and Matt." Joe pointed, holding Gomamon in his lap. "Do they have their partners?" Biyomon whispered, and Sora nodded. "Patamon and Tsunomon are doing a great job at staying still, unlike you, Gomamon." Sora chided the digimon, who froze. "Michael and Ally are right behind us… I don't know how they'll understand us though. They're not from Japan, so they probably don't know Japanese." Matt whispered as he and his brother sat next to Joe and Sora. "I'm so happy to be home though, so it'll all work out!" TK smiled and giggled, getting a laugh out of Ally. "Hey guys, we're not sure why, but it seems like we can understand you here." Michael knelt down next to the group and quickly spoke before getting ushered onwards to the back of the bus.

"Would you happen to be friends with TK and Matt?" A young lady spoke to Jacob, who was standing in a cabin, waiting for Izzy to finish packing up his laptop. "Come on Izzy, we don't have much time. We've got to get on that bus." Taylor prodded the young boy, who nodded and closed his laptop. "We'll be on the bus in a second, Ma'am." Jacob bowed respectfully to the woman, who nodded and walked off towards the bus. "Now, I just installed a program onto our digivices that will allow us to communicate from wherever we are, regardless of how far apart we are. This will stop something like when Tai left from happening ever again." Izzy handed Jacob his digivice. "Is it on everyone's digivice or just ours?" Jacob asked, getting a no from Izzy. "I'll have to install it on the others' digivices before anything else happens." Izzy explained and Tentomon piped up quietly. "The bus, guys, the bus." "Oh yeah, let's get going. Remember, you guys are stuffed animals. No talking." Taylor reminded the two digimon, staring pointedly at Caninmon.

Luke ran onto the bus as it began to back out, letting him do a quick headcount. "Ravenmon, be a separate set of eyes for me. Make sure we've got everyone. "Okay, I'll do my best." Ravenmon nodded. "Matt and TK accounted for, along with Izzy, Jacob, and Taylor." Luke muttered to himself. "Ally and Michael are in the back along with Tai and Mimi." Ravenmon alerted him. "Joe and Sora are here as well. I haven't seen Linzi or Tiffany yet." Luke turned around to see one of the two girls staring at him. "I can't find Linzi." Tiffany's voice sounded panicked. "Relax. We'll find her." Luke put one of his hands on her shoulder, trying to reassure the girl. "Azuremon is on the roof of the bus, so if she's outside, she'll see him, but I'm worried now." Tiffany told Luke, who nodded. "Azuremon will find her. Don't worry." Ravenmon piped up, but immediately froze again as the bus driver walked onto the bus.

"Hello everyone! We may have just gotten to camp, but it seems that the rampant weather conditions and the monsters appearing everywhere has forced camp to close for now! We will be taking you back to Odaiba, where your parents will be expected to pick you up." The head counselor stood up quickly and spoke, letting the group know. "We've got to find Linzi." Luke and Tiffany said at the same time.

Azuremon, from on top of the roof, peered into the forest to search for Linzi, but, having not found the girl, quickly began looking around the camp. "Over there." He hissed as he saw Linzi running away from something, Torpedomon following the girl. Azuremon placed a palm to the top of the bus and alerted Tiffany to Linzi. "Hiyah!" Azuremon jumped off of the bus and landed behind Linzi, ready to stop whatever she was running from. "Azuremon! It's Diatrymon!" Linzi yelled, out of breath as she slowed to a stop, turning around and staring at the trees, waiting for the digimon to appear. Torpedomon and Azuremon stared into the trees, waiting for the digimon to appear. "RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWK!" Diatrymon burst through the trees and knocked several of them down. The ancient-bird digimon with silver armor protecting it's skull, wings, and legs, stared down at Azuremon and Torpedomon, towering over the two rookie-level digimon. "Diatrymon, a champion-level digimon. It is known for its incredibly powerful kicks to make up for its inability to fly. Watch out for its Destruction Roar though, as it will blow you away!" Linzi's digivice rattled off quickly as she stared in terror at the digimon.

"TRIAN BEAM!" "HORN BLASTER!" The two attacks struck Diatrymon, stunning it momentarily, allowing the trio to run towards the bus. "CORAAAAAAAAAAAAW! MEGA DASH IMPACT!" Diatrymon quickly regained its senses and began charging towards the bus. "NO!" Linzi yelled as she braced for impact. "NOT TODAY!" Torpedomon growled as Linzi's digivice began to glow. "TORPEDOMON DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO DOLFINOMON!" The champion-level digimon landed gracefully and prepared herself. "CROSS FIRE!" Azuremon fired off his most powerful attack, lessening Diatrymon's momentum and letting Dolfinomon get a solid hit on the digimon. "AQUA BLASTER!" The attack struck Diatrymon right in the chest and blasted the digimon back. "There you go guys!" Linzi cheered on the two digimon as Diatrymon growled in anger. "DESTRUCTION ROAR!" Diatrymon opened its mouth and began to screech, forcing Linzi to cover her ears in pain. Azuremon glared at the digimon while covering his ears. Suddenly, the screeching stopped, and Diatrymon fell forward in pain, almost as if it had been shot. "GRAH!" It let out one last cry before it was destroyed.

"What was that?" Linzi uncovered her ears to test if she could still hear. "I'm not sure, but it sure came at a good time." Dolfinomon, dedigivolving into Torpedomon, rubbed her cheek on Linzi's leg. "Let's get to the bus." Azuremon nodded as the bus waited for them. "Any way to explain this one?" Linzi jokingly asked Tiffany as she got on the bus. "I mean, if you want to concoct a crazy idea, I'm all for it." Tiffany laughed. "Bus driver, that's everyone. To Odaiba, now." Luke nodded at the driver, who readily pulled out of the camp, very scared. "Here we come, Myotismon." TK whispered as he looked out the window at the ominous clouds over Odaiba. "This will be the most difficult part of our journey, but I'm sure we can do it." Ally smiled softly. "We have to, or both worlds are doomed." Michael pointed out, and Ally smacked him upside the head. "I don't think she was asking for a negative Ned." Sora told Michael, who simply shook his head and sighed. "Whatcha gonna do?" Frenmon giggled and jumped up, surprising Joe. "Be careful, little guy." Joe laughed quietly, making sure to put him back in Michael's arms.

"There are even more evil digimon here…" Taylor stared out the window, watching a Mammothmon knock down a building. "Kuwagamon is here too!" Izzy pointed to the bug-digimon. "He just can't seem to get enough of us. We've all beat one of his kind at least twice." Jacob laughed. "That may be true, but it seems that he just can't learn. At least we know how to beat him." Tai took the more mature approach. "Is that Meramon too?" Mimi gasped as she saw a fiery figure in the steam by the water. "Meramon or his digivolved form, SkullMeramon…" Palmon nodded. "SkullMeramon?" Mimi asked, curious about the difference between the Meramons. " "Meramon is just a fiery being, while SkullMeramon is stronger, but doesn't have as much fire." Tentomon buzzed in and explained. "Here goes nothing, I guess." Matt stared at the "Now Entering" sign in front of Odaiba's main mentrance. 'I wonder if I'll see my mom or dad" TK giggled, leaving Matt with an awkward feeling. "They'd love to see you, TK." He smiled about his little brother's optimism.

Taylor stretched slightly in her chair, taking care to not wake Jacob, who was sleeping next to her. 'How much longer is the drive?' She wondered to herself as she glanced over to her left. It seemed like everyone had fallen asleep except for Taylor and the bus driver. 'Why is everyone asleep? It's barely been an hour…' Looking out the window, she slowly began to realize that she could read the signs. 'Wait… This is Japan… How can I read this?' She stared at a billboard, realizing that it said something about sushi. 'This isn't good… Something's really messed up with the space-time continuum.' She turned to Tiffany, hoping for the girl to be awake. However, when she looked over in the girl's direction, she saw that she was leaning on Luke's shoulder, Azuremon staring at the bus ceiling, ignoring the two. 'Did I miss something?' Taylor glanced around to the others of their group. Ally and Michael were fast asleep, holding on to each other, while Sora and Matt were holding hands across the aisle. 'Love is in the air…' Taylor smiled as she shrugged, watching the city grow larger as the bus drew closer to it.

Michael woke with a start as the bus slid to a stop. "Woah!" He yelled and the rest of the bus quickly woke up. Taylor stood up quickly, her eyes wide. "EVERYONE! OFF THE BUS!" She yelled as the younger kids looked out the window and began to scream. "GO! GET OFF THE BUS!" The bus driver opened the bus door and ran off of the bus as the digidestined heard a loud roar near them, shattering the bus windows. "LET'S GO!" Ally yelled as she ushered TK and Mimi off of the bus. "Azuremon!" Tiffany yelled as Azuremon punched a hole in the roof. "What is it?" She asked her partner. "Mammothmon!" Azuremon yelled and jumped down. "OFF THE BUS, NOW!" Luke pushed Linzi off the bus, the two being the last two off the bus before Mammothmon stepped on it, crushing it instantly.

The digidestined stood in front of the Mammothmon as it stared down at them, its mouth wide open. "BROAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" The digimon roared and stepped away from the Digidestined towards the young children. "Oh no you don't!" Mimi yelled as Palmon stepped forward. "PALMON DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO TOGEMON!" The cactus digimon stood in front of the children, prepared to protect them. "I THINK I NEED TO PROVE MY POINT! NEEDLE SPRAY!" Togemon struck out with her attack. However, it only served to annoy Mammothmon. "TUSK CRUSHER!" Mammothmon's attack struck Togemon and threw her back behind the children, leaving them cowering and terrified for their life. "TOGEMON!" Mimi yelled and began running to her partner. "BIYOMON, YOU GIVE IT A GO!" Sora yelled as she grabbed Matt's hand again. "I'm on it!" Biyomon flew up to Mammothmon. "BIYOMON DIGIVOVLE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO BIRDRAMON!" Birdramon flew up into the air and glared at Mammothmon.

"Here we go! Mammothmon's data." Izzy found Mammothmon's data on his computer and began quickly reading through it. "Sora, Mammothmon is an Ultimate digimon, that is a vaccine type! It's main weakness is fire, so Birdramon should be able to take care of it easily!" Sora nodded. "YOU GOT THIS BIRDRAMON! IT'S WEAK TO FIRE, SO GO FOR IT!" Birdramon cawed, and began to attack. "METEOR WING!" The fiery attack struck Mammothmon, blowing it back and hurting it. "BROAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" The digimon angrily yelled. "FREEZING BREATH!" Mammothmon fired an extremely cold blast of air at Birdramon, freezing the bird's wings, sending her plummeting to the ground. "BIRDRAMON!" Sora yelled and squeezed Matt's hand tightly. The boy made no sound as he watched Birdramon fall. "COME ON BIRDRAMON, YOU CAN DO IT!" Sora yelled again and her digivice began to glow again.

"BIRDRAMOOOOOOOOOOON!" Birdramon was encased in a cocoon of fire. The fire dispersed at her head first, revealing a red helmet with the Crest of Love engraved in purple on its top, and a feather connected to the helmet. Two braids of golden hair slid out from underneath the helmet, with a long ponytail sliding out behind the helmet. The fire next dispersed around her wings, showing mainly red feathers with the ends being gold and orange. "DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Her torso became visible next, primarily consisting of two different shades of red. On her shoulders, more feathers appeared, and a Japanese text appeared. Her arms were primarily red, with some white, while her hands were golden and orange with her talons trimming themselves down to fine points. "GARUDAMON!" Garudamon's voice dropped greatly as the rest of the fire dispersed, revealing deep red thighs with two white strikes circling the knees encompassing more Japanese text. Finally, her golden and orange talons clicked against the ground powerfully as the digimon flew back up in the air.

"There you go Garudamon!" Sora cheered as Matt smiled. "HIYAH! WING BLADE!" Garudamon flew higher up into the sky and was enveloped in flames before flying into Mammothmon at full power. "GRAAAAAAAAAAH!" Mammothmon flew high up into the air before disintegrating. "Woah! That's some power!" Tiffany gasped as Garudamon dedigivolved into Yokomon. "Good job, Yokomon!" Sora caught her partner, who yawned. "Thanks Sora! I'm glad I could help…" Yokomon giggled and fell asleep promptly. "Aww…" Taylor giggled as she saw the digimon fall asleep. "So… What do we do now?" Joe asked, looking around. "Wait… Isn't this Highton View Terrace?" Tai asked Matt. "It is. TK and I used to live here before our parents got divorced." Matt nodded.

"I used to live here, but my parents moved us after the terrorist attack when I was young." Mimi smiled. "We lived over there." She pointed on one side of the bridge, near the large fountain. "The terrorist attack… That's right. I still don't think that it was an actual terrorist attack." Sora nodded. "I have to agree. I have vivid memories of what happened, and no terrorist attack could ever be like that." Izzy agreed and pointed to the fountain. "There were weird creatures that were there that night. I don't remember what they were, but they were powerful, and they looked a lot like the digimon." Mimi tried to think back. "Agumon, one of them sure looked a lot like Greymon to me." Tai told his partner. "Yeah, I think it actually was Greymon back then… But what was the other digimon?" Matt wondered.

"Wait… Maybe Izzy can try to locate it in his computer. We must've all seen it, so maybe it's in there if we search for something." Joe wondered. "Prodigious idea, Joe! Let me just look for it." Izzy pulled out his laptop and plugged his digivice into it. "Also, everyone, Izzy also created a program for us to stay in contact on your digivices! Make sure you get that installed." Tentomon reminded them. "That'll stop stuff like when Tai left from happening again, won't it?" Patamon gasped and nodded. "That's a great thought Patamon! That wasn't fun at all, so making sure that will never happen again would be great!" TK giggled. "Fantastic! It must have been Parrotmon!" Tsunomon gasped and stared at the screen. "Wait… I have an idea. It's a rather strange idea, but I think it makes sense." Tai stared at his digivice. "Well, we don't have much else to go on here, so let's hear it." Palmon prodded the digidestined and Mimi agreed.

"We all lived here when the fight happened, right?" Tai asked, getting nods from the Japanese digidestined. "So that means that there was a certain trigger that made us digidestined, which had to have been that we saw that battle!" Tai declared confidently. "That's an astute observation, Tai. That would mean that the 8th Japanese digidestined would've had to have seen the fight as well." Izzy realized with a start. "Well that limits it down to a few things, I guess…" Sora looked towards Odaiba. "Who has lived in both Highton View Terrace and in Odaiba?" TK asked, looking around. "That narrows down our search greatly, though, which is wonderful!" Tsunomon smiled and cheered. "Let's go digidestined!" Agumon cheered. "Unfortunately, we don't have a way to get to Odaiba now that the bus is trashed." Joe sighed. "We'll make our way down there one way, or another." Mimi smiled.

"I wonder if that's the same for us?" Ally wondered. "I wouldn't be surprised… Except we came from all across the country… So it would've had to have been multiple occasions." Luke pulled out his notebook and wrote something down. "I remember about five or six years ago, I had the strangest dream about a tiny little baby creature appearing in my room. Now that I think about it more, it seems more and more realistic. Do you know of any digimon called Bukamon?" Luke asked Ravenmon. "Of course! Bukamon is a baby digimon, or a digimon that's just hatched!" Ravenmon smiled. "Maybe that has some correlation with what your crest is…" Tiffany began to think. "Can you remember any digimon that you've seen, Tiffany?" Linzi asked. "No. Not really." Tiffany answered quickly, her mind quickly going to Apocalymon. "How strange…" Taylor murmured.

"I remember seeing a champion digimon I think once…" Michael muttered. "It was right after I had gotten seriously hurt, and it healed me…" Ally nodded. "Mine was when I saw a cute little Moonmon, I think it's name was. We played around for a few days before she had to leave." Ally smiled. "Do you ever know what happened to her?" Kangamon asked. "No… I feel like something bad happened to her though…" Ally appeared thoughtful. "Well that's no good…" Frenmon hopped onto Ally's head. "Yeah, but I'm sure she's okay." Ally smiled. "I always played all sorts of video games, so maybe a digimon appeared in one of my games? I'm not really sure because I can't remember much else…" Jacob shrugged. "You can't remember everything Jacob, so it's fine." Caninmon woofed softly. "I can't really remember anything either…" Linzi sighed. "No worries Linzi. You can't be expected to remember everything from when you were younger." Torpedomon nodded. "Hm… I guess we'll just have to keep looking for a way to get to Odaiba then, now that we've got that figured out." Michael shrugged.

Azuremon stared at Tiffany as the digidestined walked towards Odaiba. 'Tiffany.' He sent a mental message to her. 'You are confused.' He stated simply. She turned around to look at him in surprise and walked back to talk to him. "What's up, Azuremon?" She asked. "I should be asking that to you." He countered. "What do you mean by that?" Her eyes widened and she feigned confusion. "Your response when Linzi asked you about if you've ever seen a digimon before." Azuremon stated simply, catching Tiffany off guard. "What? What about it? I've never seen a digimon before I met you guys." She laughed awkwardly. "Tiffany, you of all people should know that I can detect lies." Azuremon stared into her eyes. "Azuremon, if I told you what happened, you wouldn't want to know me." Tiffany turned around and continued walking, leaving a curious Azuremon staring at her back.

"This looks like one of the main roads of Odaiba." Tai pointed ahead of them. "Is this near any of you guys' houses?" Ally asked. "It's kinda near mine, but there's a sizable distance between where we are and my house." Mimi nodded. "It's near the harbor, which is near where my mom and I live." TK smiled. "How do we want to handle this?" Michael glanced to Luke. "My brother lives within walking distance of here, so I can walk home if I need to." Joe pointed to the series of buildings over across the street. "I'll go with you, Joe. I think we each need to have one of us with one of the Japanese digidestined." Luke put one of his hands on Joe's shoulder. "I appreciate it. Hopefully, nothing will end up happening." Joe began walking towards his brother's apartment.

Izzy, walking towards the side of the bridge, stared out across the water. "Izzy, where's your home? I can take you home if you need to get home." Jacob stood next to him. "Be careful you two, it's very slippery here." Tentomon buzzed around their heads. "We'll be alright." Izzy smiled as the ground began shaking. "WOAH!" Caninmon braced himself as the bridge began to shake as well. "IZZY!" Jacob yelled as Izzy slipped and slid off of the bridge and into the river below the bridge. "WOAH!" Jacob almost fell, but caught himself and looked behind him at the rest of the group. "HANG ON TIGHT!" He yelled as he saw Michael catch Ally.

"HEEEEEEELP!" Izzy yelled as a whirlpool began to develop in the river. "Wait, what?! A WHIRLPOOL?!" Jacob yelled as the shaking stopped. A silver-gray squid-like digimon jumped out of the water and slammed back in, creating massive waves and sending Izzy under. "HANG ON IZZY, I'M COMING!" Jacob jumped in, leaving Tentomon and Caninmon on the bridge.

"I've got you!" Jacob wrapped his arm around Izzy's chest and began kicking to keep the two afloat. "That's Gesomon! He's a champion level digimon of the virus type! He lives in the Dark Ocean, and his Coral Crusher attack will squash you flat!" Tentomon yelled from the bridge. "HANG ON TIGHT!" Jacob yelled as he and Izzy were pulled underwater again. "WE NEED SOME HELP!" Caninmon yelled as Linzi and Joe ran over to the edge of the bridge. "Torpedomon!" Linzi yelled as the digimon jumped into the water. "Gomamon, you go help too!" Gomamon followed Torpedomon into the water. "GIVE IT YOUR BEST SHOT!" Linzi yelled as the two's digivices began to glow. "TORPEDOMIN DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO DOLFINOMON!" "GOMAMON DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO IKKAKUMON!"

Ikkakumon, Dolfinomon, and Gesomon stared each other down with Izzy and Jacob in-between the three champions. "BE CAREFUL GUYS! DON'T HIT IZZY AND JACOB!" Linzi yelled as the whirlpool intensified, drawing Jacob and Izzy into the center, sending them underwater as the battle began.

Izzy and Jacob are in serious trouble now! Will Dolfinomon and Ikkakumon be able to save the duo and defeat Gesomon? What is Myotismon's evil plan for the 8th child? And why can the American digidestined understand Japanese? All we know is that the digidestined will have to give every inch of their strength to make it past their new and harrowing trials!


	32. Terror in Setagaya!

Disclaimer! I own only my OCs and potentially a few of the OC digimon. Everything else is owned by Saban Brands.

Hope you all enjoy and don't forget to review!

Try Chapter 32

Ravenmon flew over the edge of the bridge to watch the battle. "RAVENMON! WE NEED YOU OVER HERE! DIGIVOLVE AND PICK UP THE KIDS SO THEY DON'T FALL INTO THE RIVER!" Luke yelled at his partner, who turned around and flew to the kids. "I'm about to get a lot bigger, but you have to trust me. I'll be taking you over to where it's safe." Ravenmon flew in the air and Luke's digivice began to glow. "RAVENMON DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO TOUCAMON!" Toucamon picked up four of the small children and let two more climb on his back. "CAAAAAAAAAAWWW!" The champion-level digimon began flying quickly, dropping the young kids in the square, far away from the digimon.

"Be careful you guys!" Linzi yelled as she watched Dolfinomon dive into the whirlpool that Gesomon had created to retrieve Jacob and Izzy. "HARPOON TORPEDO!" Ikkakumon distracted Gesomon before the agitated digimon could attack Dolfinomon. "OVER HERE, YOU BIG LUNK OF FISH MEAT!" Ikkakumon knocked Gesomon away with his horn, letting Dolfinomon stop the whirlpool, canceling out the spin by swimming the other way. "JACOB! IZZY!" Taylor yelled as she saw the two boys float to the surface, clearly unconscious. "That's not good." Joe muttered. "I've got them, Ikkakumon!" Dolfinomon yelled as she guided the two boys up the river. "GOT IT!" The champion yelled, turning his attention back to Gesomon. "CORAL CRUSHER!" The squid-like digimon took advantage of Ikkakumon's momentary distraction and slammed his tentacles into Joe's partner. "GRAH!" Ikkakumon flew back and hit the side of the bridge, causing it to shake.

"EVERYONE! INTO THE SQUARE!" Michael hollered as the bridge began to crumble away. "NOW!" He ordered as he saw Joe and Linzi hesitate. "Come on guys!" Caninmon looked at his partner again, floating in the water as Dolfinomon prepared herself to battle. "They'll be okay. They've been through trickier situations than this." Ally picked up the rookie-level digimon, and tried to guide Tentomon away, but the insect refused to move. "I've got to wait here in case they need me!" Tentomon protested and flew out over the water. Tai nodded and dragged Mimi towards the square. "We're worried about them!" Palmon protested. "We're all worried, but worrying will do us no good if we get knocked in too." Matt strengthened his pull on Sora, who finally let in and began running to the square.

"TOUCAMON! Make sure that Izzy and Jacob get back up here!" Luke yelled as Toucamon cawed out his acknowledgement. The digimon tried to dive down towards the digidestined, but was stopped unexpectedly by Gesomon's tentacles. "CORAL CRUSHER!" Gesomon began tightening his hold, getting a screech out of Toucamon. "FIERY WING!" The heat from Toucamon's wings forced Gesomon to let go, allowing Toucamon to fly up into the air. "I can't get close to them while Gesomon is here!" He yelled down to Dolfinomon and Ikkakumon, who was still slowly getting up from the hard blow to the head. "HARPOON TORPEDO!" Ikkakumon growled angrily and landed a direct hit on Gesomon. "AQUA BLASTER!" Dolfinomon also nailed Gesomon in the face, sending the squid digimon into the air. "GRAAAAAAAAAAGAHKAGAH!" Gesomon tried to reach for Izzy and Jacob again, almost reaching the duo. "No you don't!" Toucamon knocked Gesomon back with another Fiery Wing. "One more attack should do it!" Dolfinomon jumped out of the water. "AQUA BLASTER!" "HARPOON TORPEDO!" The two attacks collided with each other and blasted into Gesomon, deleting the digimon.

"CAW! I'm coming to pick the boys up!" Toucamon successfully grabbed the two boys in his talons and gently began lifting them up. Dolfinomon jumped out of the water and dedigivolved, landing on Toucamon's back. "Hang tight for one second, Ikkakumon. I'll be back to grab you in a second." Toucamon flew over to the square and waited as Torpedomon hopped off, running to her partner, who looked her over for any major injuries. "I'm fine. It's Jacob and Izzy you need to worry about." She pointed her horn at the two boys lying on the ground.

"I have CPR training." Luke stood over Izzy and began the compressions while Tiffany did her best to imitate his actions on Jacob. Little spurts of water were coming out of their mouths when Toucamon returned with a now dedigivolved Gomamon. "Hey bud." Joe picked up his friend, who quickly fell asleep. "Looks like you're tired." He laughed quietly and watched as Jacob and Izzy were slowly revitalized by Tiffany and Luke. Jacob sat up first, coughing heavily and heaving as the rest of the water got out of his lungs. "Are you alright?" Caninmon ran up to him and put his front paws on his friend's chest. "I was so worried about you." He licked his face once, getting a reaction out of Jacob other than coughs. "Hey, buddy! No worries, I'm alright." He hugged his partner and slowly stood up, wincing painfully.

Linzi noticed him wincing in pain and pulled him aside. "Are you okay?" She asked him. "Not sure. There's a lot of pain in my stomach." He sat down, in lots of pain. "Azuremon, Tiff." Linzi whispered to her friends, and Joe heard her as well. "What's up?" He sat down next to Jacob and opened his bag, pulling out a small first aid kit. "When I was in the water, there was something else in the water that I couldn't see. All I know is that it was gunning for Izzy and I, and my job right then was to make sure that he stays safe, so when it charged at us, I made sure that I was the one who got hit in the whirlpool and not Izzy." Jacob winced again as he breathed heavily. "Stay calm. We're just going to have a look at your stomach right now." Tiffany lifted Jacob's water-soaked shirt up while the Japanese digidestined looked over Izzy.

Jacob gasped a little bit as Tiffany gently touched his stomach. "I'm not seeing anything…" She murmured softly. "Tiffany, look at him from this angle." Joe moved back and Tiffany switched over to his side. "Oh my God…" She put her hand to her mouth and saw the long, but narrow, gash in his stomach. "That's not good." Linzi frowned. "Azuremon, hold down his arms. Joe, hand me the first aid kit." Tiffany accepted the first aid kit while Jacob prepared himself for the pain. "This is going to hurt a lot, Jacob." Tiffany warned the teen, who nodded. "Azuremon, make sure he doesn't try to lash out." Azuremon pinned down his arms as Tiffany began to clean out the shallow wound.

"AH!" Jacob yelled in pain as the gash began to bleed again. "I'm sorry Jacob. We've got to get it cleaned." Tiffany said apologetically as Jacob let out another pained yell. Michael's eyes widened at Jacob's yell and turned around to see the teen on the ground, his injury being taken care of. He turned back around and Frenmon whispered quietly to him. "Let's make sure that TK and Mimi don't see it." Frenmon hopped off and nudged TK's leg. "Let's go play in the square while we wait for your parents!" The in-training digimon dragged TK and Patamon away, giggling all the way. "Come on Mimi, let's go as well. That will be where your parents look first, I think." Ally took Mimi's hand, Kangamon and Palmon following the girls to the square. "Luke, I'll look over Izzy. It would probably be best if you took Joe to his brother's house." Michael nodded at the boy, and Luke shrugged. "Alright. I'll probably stay up with him then. Message me on my digivice if you need me. Let's go Ravenmon." The rookie level digimon flew after Luke and landed on his shoulder. "Joe, I'm going to take you to your brother if that's good with you." Luke alerted Joe to his presence.

"That's fine. Tiffany, keep the first aid kit. My brother has several large ones in his apartment." Joe smiled at the girl, who was finishing up cleaning up Jacob's gash. "Hang in there Jacob. Message me over my digivice later." Luke told the boy, who was exhausted from fighting Azuremon's hold. "I'm trying." Jacob smiled and made a weak laugh, before wincing again. "Okay Jacob, now, we've got to get it closed up somehow." Tiffany frowned and looked through Joe's first aid kit. "The only thing we've got is a sewing kit and some pain numbers." She muttered quietly. "Jacob, this is going to hurt a lot. I'm really sorry, but we can't afford a doctor or actual painkillers." She frowned and applied some of the pain numbers to the wound as Jacob tried to brace himself while Caninmon curled up next to his head.

"Izzy, are you here?" Michael sat Izzy up as the boy began to cough again. "I'm here." He stopped coughing and looked around. "Where is everyone?" He asked. "Mimi, Sora, Ally, TK, and their partners are over in the park square, waiting for their parents." Michael pointed to them. "Luke took Joe to his brother's apartment, and Tiffany, Linzi, Jacob and their partners are dealing with Jacob's injury." Tentomon buzzed. "It would be in your best interest to not look over there, as it's really really nasty." Tentomon hugged his partner. "I'm just glad you're okay." Izzy smiled, and hugged his partner back. "Thank you buddy." Izzy smiled. "Is Jacob going to be okay?" Taylor, seemingly appearing out of nowhere, asked Michael. "Yeah. He's in Tiffany's hands, so he'll be fine." Michael reassured her. "That's good to know." Taylor stared over at the park square.

"Look! I think Mimi's parents are here." Taylor pointed to a car that pulled up. "Ya know what… I'll go with her. You guys stay with your partners here." She told Michael, Tai and Matt coming up behind him. "Hey boys." Taylor smiled. Tai blushed a little bit and Matt laughed. "I'm going to go with Mimi and her parents for a while. If you need us, make sure you message Mimi." Taylor ran towards the park, her hat almost falling off her head. "Well, that was abrupt." Agumon's eyes widened. "Is there something that you'd like to say, boys?" Michael laughed quietly, enjoying their confused looks. "She's something else." Tai sighed. "In terms of actual intellectual discussion? No. In terms of great confusion? Yes." Izzy put his head in his hands. "Both of you are probably really tired. I hope that our parents get here soon." Matt nodded confidently and Tsunomon agreed. "I think that we could all really use some sleep desperately."

"Wheeeeeeee!" Frenmon jumped on TK's head and was caught by Patamon. "This is a lot of fun!" The three boys laughed and kept playing in the park. "Sora, do you know what you're going to do when you get home?" Ally asked the girl. "Take a shower, is step number one." She laughed. "I can't blame you there." Ally laughed. "I think I'll have to go with you, because there's no other place to go, I suppose. Although, that hasn't stopped me before." Ally thought about it. "I wouldn't worry about it. I'm sure my mom will let you stay until we beat Myotismon." Sora smiled. "As long as there's a warm bed and warm food!" Kangamon piped up and Yokomon nodded. "You can never beat a warm place to sleep for the night." Ally nodded, watching the square for more cars pulling up. "Hey, I think that's either TK and Matt's mom." She pointed to a car that pulled up next to TK.

"HEY! MATT, MICHAEL, AND LINZI! TK AND MATT'S MOM IS HERE!" Ally hollered at the three, and saw them get up and start moving towards the square. Matt, albeit reluctantly, beckoned for Gabumon to follow him, while Torpedomon slowly followed Linzi. "I'm going to go introduce myself." Ally stood up and walked over to the lady who was fawning over TK, Patamon, and Frenmon. "Hello ma'am. My name is Ally, and I was one of the campers and counselors at TK's summer camp." She bowed respectfully and smiled at Ms. Ishida. "Hello, Ally." She smiled politely at the girl, trying to make eye contact with Matt, who avoided her gaze. "Hi Sora, it's nice to see you." Ms. Ishida saw Sora, who she recognized from TK's school. "If you don't mind, I've got to take TK home now." TK's mom opened his car door and the boy hopped inside. "Frenmon, you gotta stay with Michael, okay?" TK told the little pokémon. "Okay, we'll wait for you." Frenmon hopped out and into Michael's arms.

"If you don't mind, Ms. Ishida, my name is Linzi. I was another camper and counselor at TK's summer camp. I have to ask you to let me come with you. I know it's a little random, and probably not welcome, but I don't have a place to stay right now, and there is a lot to explain." Linzi ran up, out of breath, with Torpedomon behind her. "Um… Well, I'm never one to say no to a new face, especially if it's a young girl." Ms. Ishida smiled. "She will have to stay in the back seat, but you can sit up front." She pointed to Torpedomon, who nodded. "Thank you very much, ma'am." Linzi bowed again and got in the car. "I'll contact you guys on my digivice if I need you. Let me know if you need anything." Linzi closed the door and it drove off. "Well, I guess everyone's splitting up again?" Tai asked. "Unfortunately, it seems so." Matt nodded, deep in thought. "We'll just wait for everyone else's parents then, I suppose." Ally shrugged.

Izzy stood up slowly and began walking to the square as well. "Izzy, hold up now. Your mom and dad are on their way over, I think." Tiffany stopped the boy as she closed up Joe's first aid kit. "He's passed out." Azuremon announced as he picked Jacob up gently. "That's unfortunate. I was hoping that he'd be awake to explain stuff to Izzy's parents." Tiffany sighed. "I'll explain my part of the journey, and then Jacob can explain his part when he wakes up." Izzy offered. "You'll have to, because there's no way that we'll be able to stay otherwise." Caninmon woofed softly. "We'll be stuffed animals, no worries!" Tentomon buzzed and froze up as Izzy's mom got out of the car. "Oh, I'm so glad that you're safe, Izzy!" Mrs. Koushiro hugged her son. "Hi mom." Izzy smiled and hugged his dad too. "Hello. My name is Tiffany, and I'm one of Izzy's counselors at Summer Camp this year. Unfortunately, due to the crazy weather recently, we were forced to cancel camp." Tiffany smiled.

"Hello. Thank you for taking care of Izzy for us. It means a lot." Mr. Koushiro got back in the car and started it up. "Excuse me, ma'am, but I do have a favor to ask of you. My colleague and friend here needs a place to stay for the night until his folks can get back to Odaiba to pick him up." Tiffany stopped Mrs. Koushiro before she could get in the car. "Well… That's a strange request, but sure! We'll keep an eye on him for tonight." She smiled and helped the slowly-coming-to Jacob into the car. Izzy nodded at Tiffany, and the frozen-in-place Azuremon as he closed the door after putting Tentomon and Caninmon in the car as well. The car drove off and Tiffany and Azuremon began walking towards the remainder of the group at the square.

"Who's left here?" Azuremon looked around quickly. "Just Matt, Tai, Sora, Ally, you, Tiff, and myself." Michael said quickly. "And us digimon!" Yokomon smiled, and Sora nodded. "Our parents all live on the other side of town, so it'll take a little while for them to get here." She explained. "Well, let's sit down then, I guess." Ally shrugged. "I need to talk to Matt about something real quick, so you guys go ahead and sit down." Michael gave Tiffany a sly smile, and she nodded, laughing quietly. "Be nice to him." Ally chided Michael, causing Matt to widen his eyes. "Don't' worry, he's not going to kill you." Frenmon chirped at the younger boy. "Well, that's reassuring." Matt regained his composure and sarcastically remarked. "Careful of your tongue. It might get your head chopped off one day." Tsunomon poked Matt in the side, getting a laugh out of the boy.

"Okay, what's up?" Matt asked Michael. "Sora. Sora's up." Matt immediately blushed a bright red. "What about Sora?" He sputtered. Michael cracked a smile and put his hand on Matt's shoulder. "It's pretty obvious that the two of you have feelings for each other." He said plainly, getting a squeak out of Matt. "Don't worry, she doesn't know that you feel the same way. I'm just here to remind you of a few things." Matt grew more nervous as Michael laughed. "You guys are only eleven. Most eleven year-olds aren't mature enough to handle a relationship." He took his hand off of Matt's shoulder and turned around. "If I were you, I'd definitely tell her. Just make sure that you both know how young you are. Also, I'd ask your dad to give you 'The Talk.' Matt nodded. "I'll be sure to do that, I guess…" The younger boy watched as Michael turned back around. "One more thing. Tai's going to need your help more than ever here. You've done well since we split up about not fighting with him, but please, be careful." Michael cautioned the boy. "Of course. I just don't want him to go making stupid decisions that he seems to be so fond of making." Matt laughed. "I know that. There are other ways of disagreeing than fighting, though." Michael reminded him. Matt nodded, and heard his name from the other clearing. "Seems like your dad is here." Michael laughed and walked back to the others with Matt in tow.

"Hello Mr. Ishida. My name is Michael, and I was one of Matt's fellow campers and counselors at summer camp this year. We're terribly sorry that it had to get canceled because of the weather, but we hope it wasn't too much of an inconvenience." Michael bowed to Matt's father. "I was over here for a news story anyways. It's not that big of a hassle." Mr. Ishida waved him off. "May I ask if the news story was about the bridge?" Ally asked quickly. "As a matter of fact, it wasn't. There was another monster spotted near here that was causing serious damage to some of the buildings. I was heading out to check it out myself." Mr. Ishida explained. "If I may ask your name, and yours as well, misses. I don't believe we've met before." He asked Tiffany and Ally. "Oh, I'm sorry. My name is Ally, and this is Tiffany." She responded. Suddenly, a building near the group began to fall down. "That's got to be it!" Mr. Ishida yelled as he jumped into the van. "YOU KIDS WAIT HERE! IT'S NOT SAFE FOR YOU!" He yelled. "That's our cue to follow him, right?" Sora asked. "You betcha! I bet it's one of Myotismon's henchmen!" Tai yelled and began to run after the van.

"LET'S GO GUYS!" Matt yelled and ran after Tai. "Wait for me, Matt!" Gabumon yelled as he and Agumon ran after their partners. "Frenmon, I need you to digivolve just in case." Michael nodded. "Same for you Yokomon." Sora agreed. "Let's go ahead and digivolve as well, Tsunomon." Matt told his digimon friend. "We're on it!" The three in-training digimon nodded. "YOKOMON DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO BIYOMON!" "FRENMON DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO CHINCHILMON!" "TSUNOMON DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO GABUMON!" The rest of the group followed Matt, Tai, and Matt's dad as they ran towards the collapsing building.

"MATT! What are you doing?!" Mr. Ishida yelled as he saw the group. "If this is what we think it is, then we're the only ones who can handle it." Matt told his dad, a newfound confidence in his eyes. "Trust me, dad. If this is what we think it is, you're in the most danger here." Matt stood his ground in front of his dad. Struck by the sudden change in his son, Mr. Ishida stared at him. "I'm not sure what you mean Matt, but I trust you." Mr. Ishida put his hand on Matt's shoulder and nodded. "GET DOWN!" Tai yelled as the building fully collapsed, the dust making it near impossible to see. "AGUMON! WE NEED YOUR HELP!" Tai yelled again as his digivice began to glow. "AGUMON DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO GREYMON!" The dinosaur digimon growled and fired off several blasts of fire into the dust, clearing it out as best as he could. Mr. Ishida stared in shock at Greymon. "What is that thing?!" He yelled. "Dad, Michael and I will explain everything later. Just trust us now and get to safety!" Matt yelled as a figure appeared out of the smoke.

Mr. Ishida got into the van and drove off again, heading for a safer place to report on the whole situation while Matt, Michael, Ally, Sora, Tai, and Tiffany stared down the giant digimon walking towards them. Tiffany quickly pulled out her digivice, hoping to get some information on the digimon, only to be met with a few short words. "Vajramon is one of the twelve Digimon Devas. He serves Ebonwumon, and is known for his physical prowess." Her digivice said no more, leaving the six and their partners to fight against Vajramon on their own. "Didn't Linzi say that it took Meermaimon, Greymon, and a gigantic Roller Coaster to beat Vikaralamon?" Sora asked nervously. "I'm afraid so. Fortunately, we do have some Ultimate Digimon here that can help us out, right guys?" Tiffany glanced at Matt and Michael's partners, realizing that Biyomon would still be too weak to digivolve into Ultimate. "Gabumon and Chinchilmon are probably still too tired to digivolve. They did quite a bit of battling while you guys were opening the gate." Matt shook his head. "I'm sure that Tai and I will think of something with your guys' help from the champions." Ally smiled and pointed to Kangamon and Greymon.

"Kangamon, now's your time to shine!" She yelled as her digivice began to glow. "KANGAMON DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO TUNIPYMON!" Greymon and Tunipymon stood in front of Vajramon's intimidating physique, with red chrome digizoid armor covering some parts of his dark black skin, his yellow horns intimidating the two champions. "GRAH! MASTER MYOTISMON HAS COMMANDED YOUR DEFEAT FOR THE SOLE REASON OF PROTECTING THE DIGITAL WORLD!" Vajramon roared and crossed the massive Deva Blades. "PREPARE TO BE DESTROYED AND DECIMATED!" Tunipymon and Greymon stared the digimon down, ready to fight. "NOVA BLAST!" "BRANCH CRUSH!" The two champions launched their attacks at Vajramon, only for them to be deflected and sent back at the two by his Deva Blades, creating another cloud of smoke. "Seems like there's no more playing around! LET'S GO TAI!" Greymon hollered as Tai's digivice and Crest began to glow.

"GREYMON DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Greymon's skull became cloaked in a digizoid chrome metal, and claws on both of Greymon's hands were created from the same material. He gained a cannonlike weapon on his chest that opened up and shot too warning shots at the ground near him, creating a large explosion. A pair of wings also grew out from Greymon's back, made of the same digizoid chrome metal as his skull. "HIYAH! METALGREYMON, THE WARRIOR OF COURAGE!" MetalGreymon glared at Vajramon, now seeing eye to eye with the Digimon Deva. "You too Tunipymon! Give it a go!" Ally yelled as her digivice and Crest began to glow as well.

"TUNIPYMOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON!" Tunipymon struck the ground with her log, sending a large dust cloud into the air. She nearly tripled in size, and the dust cloud dispersed. Tunipymon hefted up a large stone pillar and slammed it into the ground, shattering the pillar and sending the fragments into the sky, where they formed a crescent moon that shined bright yellow light on Tunipymon. Tunipymon's fangs grew larger as her purple eyes changed to a bright red color. White leather shin-guards were formed from the light and strapped themselves on as strange white markings appeared in a circle on her chest. White rings of moonlight attached themselves to her wrists as well. "DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Tunipymon's long tail gained an iron spike, turning it almost into a club. Tunipymon's pouch also gained a protective armor on its front. "WEREKANGAMON!" She growled as boxing gloves appeared on her hands and she swung multiple times, staring intently at Vajramon.

"Two Ultimates won't be enough! I AM ONE OF THE DEVAS OF THE DIGITAL WORLD! I AM MORE POWERFUL THAN ANYTHING YOU HAVE FACED!" Vajramon growled and began attacking. "DEVA BLADE!" He crossed his swords and sent a powerful beam of energy directly at the two Ultimates. "NOT SO FAST! GIGA BLASTER!" MetalGreymon canceled out the attack with his missiles, while WereKangamon snuck up close to Vajramon, preparing to attack. "RAPIDFIRE MOON PUNCH!" WereKangamon stunned Vajramon and used her advantage to hit him as much as possible. "GRAH! TERRA BLADE!" Vajramon struck his swords into the ground, a large fissure in the ground began to appear, sending rocks and boulders everywhere, including several right at the Digidestined. Tiffany braced for impact as her digivice began to glow as well, Azuremon jumping in front of the boulders. "AZUREMON DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO TAIONGMON!"

The Holy digimon landed on his feet and jumped in the air again, preparing to destroy the boulders. "BLADE OF COURAGE AND KINDNESS!" He summoned two swords, replacing his traditional staff. "HIYAH!" The two swords cut the boulders clean in half and forced them to fall to the ground. "Thank you, Taiongmon." Tiffany hugged her partner, who then went to help WereKangamon and MetalGreymon take on Vajramon. "Guys, how on earth are we going to beat this guy?! He's even stronger than Vikaralamon, from how Linzi described him!" Matt's eyes widened as he saw MetalGreymon get thrown to the ground. "I'm not sure, but we'll have to, somehow." Michael responded as WereKangamon was thrown into a tree. "WEREKANGAMON!" "METALGREYMON!" Their respective partners yelled, worried for their partner's safety. Meanwhile, Mr. Ishida waited on top of another building, filming the entire battle, slowly recognizing the dread building in his stomach as he saw his son very close to the battlefield.

Tiffany, Michael, Ally, Matt, Sora, and Tai are in a dangerous situation now! With another Digimon Deva following Myotismon, his power simply keeps growing! Will MetalGreymon, WereKangamon, and Taiongmon be able to defeat Vajramon? Or will this be the end of these digidestined?


	33. The Closest Encounter Yet!

Disclaimer! I own only my OCs and potentially a few of the OC digimon. Everything else is owned by Saban Brands.

Hope you all enjoy and don't forget to review!

Try Chapter 33

Matt stared up at the towering figure of Vajramon as the digimon glared at them. "NOW!" Tiffany yelled, and Taiongmon charged at the Deva, running around Vajramon's feet, trying to trip it up. "METALGREYMON! NAIL HIM WITH A GIGA BLASTER!" Tai yelled as well, leaving Vajramon torn as to which way to attack, allowing him to be hit by the Giga Blaster. "GORAAAAAH!" Vajramon growled and knocked Taiongmon away from him, distracted again, letting WereKangamon attack. "RAPIDFIRE MOON PUNCH!" Her attack pushed Vajramon down onto the ground, shaking the earth beneath their feet. "He's not down for the count yet." Tiffany warned the group. "We can see that." Ally nodded as Vajramon got to his feet again. "WHY DO YOU FIGHT SO?! RESISTANCE IS FUTILE!" Vajramon hollered, not expecting a reply.

"That's where you're wrong, Vajramon." Sora spoke up. "We fight because we love our world, no matter how strong our enemies are. We fight with everything that we have, because we can't just sit there and give up. We're the digidestined, destined to save both worlds!" She yelled, stunning Vajramon. "Impossible! Only the Digimon Devas are to protect the digital world…" He muttered, his arms falling to his sides. "You guys aren't doing to hot of a job right now. You're letting Myotismon get super close to destroying both of the worlds by helping him, not to mention letting Devimon take over File Island in its entirety." Matt began to list off the evil digimon that had appeared during their journey. "The Digital Mother herself saved me from death against the Bewitching One, Kyukimon. If that doesn't convince you, I don't know what would." Michael nodded as Tai added on to that. "She also aided me in getting back to the digital world when I was trapped here." With every piece of evidence, Vajramon seemed more and more doubtful of himself. "Maybe there is something to be said about this…" He spoke quietly.

"Very well. You may relax your guard. I will not attack you." Vajramon stared the two Ultimate and one champion digimon down. "I will return to my home. Be forewarned, though, that if you ever attempt to harm the Digital World, I will not hesitate to destroy you immediately." Vajramon rose up into the air. "Portal, OPEN!" He roared and floated up through the massive blue portal that appeared. "Do warn your friend as well, that Vikaralamon is rather furious with her." He gave the digidestined group one last message before he disappeared, leaving them standing amongst the wreckage, staring at the sky. "What was that?" Tiffany asked, voicing the confusion that the other digidestined held. "Honestly, I'm not sure myself." Tai scratched his head as the three digivolved digimon returned to their partners.

WereKangamon, MetalGreymon, and Taiongmon dedigivolved to Roomon, Agumon, and Azuremon respectively. "You guys did a great job out there." Ally picked up her friend, smiling softly at the in-training digimon. "I really would like to stop battling opponents that we can't beat." Roomon yawned and fell asleep. "Azuremon, good job." Tiffany hugged her partner, who simply nodded. "You had to be protected. There was no other way." The digimon sat down, tired as well. "Agumon, how come you didn't dedigivolve into Koromon? I thought that's what happened after you digivolved into MetalGreymon." Tai questioned his partner, clearly confused. "I think it's because I'm starting to get strong enough so I don't have to dedigivolve so far back." Agumon explained.

"Well, that's nice and all, but Matt's dad is coming back now, and he's going to want answers." Chinchilmon hopped onto Michael's shoulder and pointed at the quickly moving van. "Michael, you know that you and I are together, so there's no issue there if we have to get home." Matt told the teen, who nodded. "I still wonder where Sora's mom and Tai's mom are then…" Gabumon looked around. "Right there, of course. They were stuck behind Vajramon's rage-induced attacks." Ally pointed to the area behind the fallen building. "Well… We're almost home then." Sora looked at the others. "I, for one, can't wait for a nice shower." Tai laughed and began to walk towards the fallen building. "Where are you going, Tai?" Yokomon asked him. "We've got to get through the building somehow." He shrugged. "Or you could just go around it like the rest of us." Matt pointed the park right next to the building. "Oh… I guess that works too." Tai laughed awkwardly and changed his trajectory to move towards the path.

"Matt! Are you okay?" Mr. Ishida gave his son a tight hug. "Are you okay?" He looked Matt over, worried for his safety. "Yeah, dad. I'm okay." Matt returned the hug, surprising his dad. "You're coming home right now. We've got a lot to talk about, and something tells me that your friends here have something to do with it." Mr. Ishida directed Matt towards his van. "Michael?" Matt looked to his friend. "I'm coming, I'm coming." He smiled and hopped in the back seat of the van as Gabumon followed his partner. "Guys, if you need us, just message us and we'll come as fast as we can." Michael told the other four. "Got it. Good luck guys. Remember, find the final digidestined." Tiffany reminded Michael, who nodded, getting a strange look from Mr. Ishida. "When we get home, both of you are telling me this full story." He ordered.

"MOM!" Sora yelled when her mom came into view. "Oh, Sora!" Mrs. Takenouchi enveloped her daughter in a hug. "I was so worried about you." She stared into Sora's eyes, compassion and relief filling her eyes. "It's okay mom. I'm safe." Sora teared up a bit and hugged her mom again. "After all those monsters started appearing and the weather started getting worse, I got so worried about you. I know you can handle yourself, but I just couldn't help it." Mrs. Takenouchi babbled on a bit. "Speaking of monsters, who is this little creature?" She knelt down to Yokomon and stared at her. "This is my friend, Yokomon. I'm not exactly sure where to start with the whole story of how I met her, but I'll tell you soon, I promise. Just know that she's my best friend and has saved me so much." Sora explained quickly. "We need to get home then. This sounds like something that I need to know." Mrs. Takenouchi spotted her car near the park. "Wait!" Ally yelled, running up to the two women.

"Hi. My name is Ally, and I was part of the story involving Yokomon here. This is my friend, Roomon, and I assure you that it's vital that I stay near Sora at all times." She looked into Mrs. Takenouchi's eyes. "Sora?" Her mom asked. "She's telling the truth. She was a big help and she'll be able to explain a lot more than I can." Sora was honest to her mom. "Alright, but I'm keeping an eye on you. I just got my daughter back from a very dangerous situation. I'm not losing her." Mrs. Takenouchi stared into Ally's eyes. "Got it. Yes, ma'am, I understand." Ally stood up straight and bowed quickly. Sora, watching the exchange, suddenly remembered the night that Birdramon had first evolved, and smiled as her mother's love was further cemented in her heart.

"TAI!" Tai's mother called from within the crowd of people. "SON! We were so worried about you." Mr. Kamiya grabbed his son's shoulders and made sure that he didn't get lost in the crowd. "Follow him." Tiffany whispered to Azuremon as Mr. Kamiya helped his son through the crowd of people. "I'm on it." Azuremon nodded and Tiffany began to follow the bipedal digimon. "Dad, wait! We've got to wait for Tiffany!" Tai yelled, trying to make himself heard over the crowd. "Who is Tiffany?" His dad made sure that he got to their car first before he stopped. "She's someone who you guys need to meet. It'll explain a lot of what's been happening, including Agumon, my friend." Tai shook himself free as Azuremon jumped in front of him. "WOAH!" Mr. Kamiya yelled and Mrs. Kamiya screamed. "Mom, dad, please calm down. This is Azuremon. Azuremon is my friend, just like Tiffany is my friend." Tai stopped his dad from almost attacking Azuremon. The powerful digimon stood in a defensive stance as Tiffany ran up. "Hi! I'm Tiffany." She smiled at the two adults, who stared at the disheveled girl.

"Um… Tai… Just get in the car…" Mr. Kamiya told the boy. "You can take Agumon, Tiffany, I don't know where you'll fit, but we'll make room." He shook himself out of his stupor. "It's okay. Azuremon can take me to your home. I'll follow you guys." She smiled and waved the car off. "I think we confused them a bit." She told Azuremon, who nodded. "I think that's an understatement. Let's go." Azuremon picked Tiffany up, showing his strength, and began to run as fast as he could, following the car. "Be careful. Don't want you getting hurt." Tiffany whispered as her partner dodged pedestrians and street vendors as he tried to keep up with the Kamiya car. "Just do the best you can." She whispered again as her partner jumped up onto the covering of a vending cart. "WOAH!" She screamed as a melon almost hit her in the face. "Sorry. I'll try to be more careful." Azuremon apologized, dodging a noodle vendor.

The Kamiya car pulled up to the parking lot outside of their apartment building. "I'm sorry, mom, dad, but I really can't explain anything until Tiffany gets here." Tai hugged Agumon, scared of his parents' anger. "Tai Kamiya, we will be discussing this when we get inside. Go to your room now." His dad's voice was cold and angry, causing Tai to flinch. "Yes sir." He murmured quietly and Agumon's eyes narrowed. "Let's go, Agumon." He hopped out of the car with his friend and quickly ran inside the apartment building, hoping that Tiffany would get there soon.

Fortunately, his wish was granted, as Azuremon and Tiffany landed gracefully on the ground in front of the apartment complex. "Did Tai say what room?" Tiffany asked. "I don't remember, but there's most likely a directory somewhere." Azuremon walked inside, on edge after the run. "Let's calm down for a second. Tai's parents are most likely super confused, and you know that confused people and digimon are on guard, which is something that we really don't want when they have to believe us." Tiffany urged her friend. "You're right. Let's still go in though." Azuremon stepped inside the door as the Kamiya parents quickly rushed past, not saying a word to Tiffany or Azuremon. "Well that was rude. Let's follow them." Tiffany frowned and ran after the two adults. They barely made it onto the same elevator as the two.

Smiling amicably at the two, Tiffany stood to the side as they went up to their floor. "You have a lot of explaining to do, young lady." Mr. Kamiya stared intensely at Tiffany, who didn't flinch. "Of course. It's only natural that you have lots of questions." Tiffany nodded, not batting an eye. "Our room is to the right." Mrs. Kamiya, more calm and warm to the two foreigners, pointed down the hall. "Well, here goes nothing." Azuremon spoke quietly and he and Tiffany led Mr. and Mrs. Kamiya into their room, where Tai lay, being comforted by Agumon and his little sister.

" Tai, please come into the main room." Tiffany poked her head into his bedroom. "Who might you be?" She knelt next to Tai's little sister and offered a hug. "My name is Kari. I'm Tai's little sister. He's really upset again cause dad got mad at him, but Agumon is helping lots." Kari piped up. "Hey, do you want to hear about a fun adventure that Tai and I had too?" Tiffany got an idea in her head. "That sounds like fun!" Kari giggled and ran out into their eating room, where Mr. and Mrs. Kamiya were already seated. "Tai, I know this is going to be hard, but you've got to do this. It's the only way that your parents will understand." She gave the boy a hug, and he stiffened. "Tai, you can do this. You've got to use the courage in your heart, and you've done that before, so I know you can do it." Agumon touched Tai's Crest, getting it to glow slightly as Tai relaxed a little bit. "Well, we might as well get it over with." He stood up and walked out into the room, Agumon at his side, while Tiffany and Azuremon followed the two. They all sat down around each other, waiting on Kari to put the family cat's milk dish down. "Miko, I made that especially for you." She told the little cat, who purred softly. "Kari, I think it would be best if you didn't hear this story." Mr. Kamiya spoke slowly, if a bit harshly. "She should absolutely hear it. Tai is her sibling and one of her dearest friends. Friends always get to know what happened." Tiffany spoke up for Kari, who smiled graciously in her direction. Tiffany got a glare out of Mr. Kamiya, but the man eventually gave in. "Fine, she can hear it." Kari giggled slightly as Tai smiled.

Miko, the family cat, slowly lapped away at his milk bowl, purring contentedly. He was fond of the little girl who gave him milk, and he even loved the noisy boy who came home stinky and sweaty every day. However, Miko's content drinking was disrupted by a high pitched beeping noise coming from beneath the couch. Slowly growing annoyed, the cat snuck under the couch and grabbed the object that was making the sound. It was a strange octagonal shaped blue and green device. Intent on removing it from his presence, Miko took it onto the open balcony, where he accidently dropped it off of the balcony. Now curious, Miko ran onto the fire escape and followed the device to the ground, picking it up once he reached it.

Miko was startled by the appearance of another cat, who growled at Miko. The Kamiya's cat screeched and ran off in the opposite direction, the device in his mouth, quickly followed by the street cat. The two cats wove in and out of traffic, dodging the cars as Miko ran further and further away from his home. The two cats made it onto the sidewalk, where the other cat hissed one more time before abandoning the chase. Miko looked around and slowly realized that he had no clue where he was. "Meow…" The cat stepped towards an open truck back and realized that he was surrounded by cats again. "MRRRRRRRROW!" Miko jumped into the open truck, which closed a few seconds later, sending him further away from his home.

The sun slowly went down over Japan and a slight chill settled in. Wide awake, Izzy sat at his desk, typing away rapidly at his computer. Jacob lay next to him, still in pain, but nothing near as bad as he had been earlier. Izzy's parents had taken the news of the digidestined and their story quite well, shocking the boy genius. "Jacob, are you feeling alright?" He asked the older teen. "Yeah, I've been better. I wish this thing would go away though." Jacob laughed quietly and gestured at the bandage and gauze on his stomach. "You still need to heal, so it's not coming off any time soon." Caninmon nosed his partner, getting a quiet laugh. "Yeah, you'll need to be fully healed if we're going to beat Myotismon." Tentomon agreed. "Speaking of Myotismon, I was doing some research on him with some of the materials that Gennai left me, and I learned some interesting information about his creation and destruction. It goes something like-" Izzy was cut off by the sound of his computer beeping.

"Is that the final Japanese digidestined?" Jacob wondered as Izzy clicked on the notification. "It shows that the 8th digidestined, or at least his or her digivice is near here, along with a few digimon." Izzy told him. "Do you want to get out and get it?" Tentomon asked Izzy. "Definitely. If we have that, we can track down the 8th digidestined much easier." Izzy nodded. "I'm coming then." Jacob sat up slowly, clearly still in pain. "Absolutely not. You're still seriously hurt." Izzy vetoed the boy. "That's what you think. It just takes a few ibuprofen before I'll be up and running." Jacob laughed. "What's ibuprofen?" Caninmon asked Tentomon, confused. "Izzy says it's a pain killer, so it stops something from hurting." Tentomon relayed the information. "You're still too hurt. I don't want it getting any worse." Izzy rejected Jacob again. "Listen. This is my job. If I get hurt from this, I get hurt. I accepted that a long time ago. Now, let me come with you so I can protect you." Jacob stared Izzy in the eyes, who slowly nodded reluctantly. "You have to promise though that you'll stay out of danger." Caninmon poked Jacob's leg. "I make no promises. I don't find trouble, trouble finds me." Jacob quipped and the four laughed quietly, trying not to wake Izzy's parents.

A bright pink light shined from beneath the water as Miko's truck passed over a bridge. A mass of black and blue sludge slowly raised itself from the water, its goggle-like eyes staring intently at Miko's truck. The digimon groaned as the pink light from the tag and Crest intensified attached to its ear. It began traveling right for the truck's destination, a series of clubs by the waterfront, plowing through a freight-boat, leaving it capsized under the bridge, its captain on board.

Another bright pink light shined from DemiDevimon's wing. The bat digimon was hanging upside down on a power line. He flipped right-side up and flew into the air, giggling maniacally. "The 8th digidestined is nearby!" He flew in the same direction that the sludge digimon was headed in, towards the clubs by the waterfront.

Miko pawed softly at the back door to the truck, which began to slow down near a group of clubs. The little cat picked up the device again and waited for the door to open, only for the truck to be picked up and thrown to the side by the gigantic sludge creature. The doors flew open, and Miko made a break for it with the digivice still in his mouth. The gigantic creature followed Miko, moving significantly faster than the little cat expected it to move. He screeched again as Miko ran into one of the alleyways, leaving a frustrated sludge digimon. Miko, having had enough of the device and the troubles that it wrought, dropped it in the alleyway and watched as a large, black raven picked it up and flew away with it before the cat ran away.

"Are you okay?" Izzy asked Jacob as the teen eased himself out of the window onto the fire escape. "I will be." He grunted painfully as Caninmon was helped out by Tentomon. "Let's be quick about this then. My digivice is saying that the digivice is that way." Izzy pointed out into the industrial district near his house. "Well, let's get going then." Jacob began moving quickly down the stairs, as his friends followed him.

"There! There's the rogue digimon!" Izzy pointed at the waterfront, seeing the gigantic sludge digimon pull itself out of the water. Tentomon gasped when he saw the digimon. "What digimon is that?" Jacob asked, gagging at the stench. "That's Raremon!" Izzy pulled out his computer from his bag. "Raremon is a nasty digimon that smells like fish, looks like the insides of a trash can, and is as strong as a dumpster! We've got to find the 8th child, and fast." Tentomon buzzed around his partner's head. "Tentomon, I think you know what we've got to do." Izzy looked at his partner. "Very well, I'll go and take care of that overgrown trash bag while you three continue looking for the 8th digidestined." Tentomon sighed. "You ready to digivolve?!" Izzy asked. "As ready as I'll ever be!" Tentomon flew towards Raremon. "TENTOMON DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO KABUTERIMON!" The large insect digimon immediately fired off a powerful Electro Shocker, getting Raremon's attention and keeping it from following the other three on their search.

Jacob, Izzy, and Caninmon ran down the alley that Miko had ran down, but were quickly stopped by DemiDevimon, who laughed at them. "Going somewhere?" He giggled and began to attack them, but was stopped by a small shadow appearing near him. "DON'T BE AN IDIOT EVEN MORE THAN YOU ARE. USE HIM." Jacob, Izzy, and Caninmon heard Myotismon's voice float through the shadow, giving them chills. "Yes, your most evil one." DemiDevimon, now cowed, flew into the sky. "SHADRAMON! APPEAR!" He threw down a small ball that exploded in a flash of bright light, blinding them momentarily and summoning another digimon. "GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" The light disappeared, leaving them with the light from the streetlight. Caninmon growled at the new digimon, watching as DemiDevimon laughed, flying away and following the signal.

"ROAAAAAAAGH!" The digimon growled again, letting off flames. "Woah, we might be in a bit of trouble here." Caninmon growled. "That's Shadramon, according to the computer." Izzy told the two. "Shadramon is one of very few Armor Digimon in existence. It controls fire, but is an insect digimon, which made it turn evil because of the two different elements!" Caninmon stared at the digimon. "This is up to me." He barked and Jacob's digivice began to glow. "CANINMON DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO RANETSUMON!" The champion-level digimon stared at Shadramon, who wasn't intimidated by Ranetsumon. "Let's take cover." Jacob suggested, pulling Izzy behind a dumpster in the alley.

Kabuterimon and Raremon were still battling each, now over the water. "ELECTRO SHOCKER!" Kabuterimon fired off another attack, striking Raremon in the eyes and sending it underwater. "GOAAAAARGH!" Raremon reached up and grabbed Kabuterimon, pulling him down into the water. "LET ME GO!" Kabuterimon began thrashing down under the water, trying to get away from Raremon. "BREATH OF DECAY!" Raremon struck Kabuterimon and began to pull it even farther underwater as Kabuterimon began to struggle for air. However, the insect digimon slammed his arms onto Raremon's sensitive head, forcing it to let go and allowing Kabuterimon to quickly swim to the surface, launching himself out of the water as he reached it. "GRAH! ELECTRO SHOCKER!" The powerful attack struck Raremon right as it emerged from the water. The resulting explosion created a massive cloud that, when cleared away, showed that Raremon had been destroyed. "GRAH!" Kabuterimon growled and flew towards where he had last seen Jacob, Izzy, and Caninmon, a feeling of dread growing in his stomach.

"RANETSUMON!" Jacob yelled as his partner was knocked back into another dumpster with a massive crash. "NO!" Izzy yelled as Jacob ran to his partner. "IT'S NOT SAFE!" Izzy yelled, staying behind the dumpster as Shadramon came closer to the two. "You can stay away from my partner." Jacob glared at Shadramon, who hesitated momentarily. "That's right. Stay away." Jacob helped his partner up, who was clearly exhausted. "Jacob, get to a safe place. Shadramon will kill you." Ranetsumon's tired voice reached his partner's ears, who shrugged it off. "All digimon have compassion and emotion, no matter what they may be like." Jacob stared intensely at Shadramon. "GORAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!" Shadramon shrieked, forcing Jacob to cover his ears and yell in pain. "I WILL NOT BACK DOWN!" Jacob yelled over Shadramon as Izzy watched on. "Why is he doing that? He's going to die if he doesn't get to safety…"

"This is my partner. He is my friend, more than anyone who has ever been my friend before." Jacob stared Shadramon in the eyes. The fire insect digimon seemed confused. "He is my friend because he's saved me more times than I can count, he is one of the kindest creatures to me, and he's loved me more than my own family. Sure, I may not be the best person in the world, or the smartest, or the bravest, but if there's one thing that I've learned from my adventures in the digital world, it's that your friends are irreplaceable, even if you don't get along. Caninmon or Ranetsumon has been the best friend that I've ever had. That's why I'll always help him, no matter what the consequences." Jacob wiped a tear out of his eye and turned around to help Ranetsumon stand up, as the digimon was shaking.

"Shaaaaaaa?" Shadramon tilted its head and stared at Jacob's back. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING, YOU PUNY PIPSQUEAK PUNK?! I KNEW YOU WERE USELESS! DEMI DART!" DemiDevimon fired off an attack angrily at Shadramon, who was struck in the back by the attack. The digimon's eyes blazed and struck the ground with its fists, before roaring angrily and staring at Jacob and Ranetsumon. "FLASH BUSTER!" A wave of flames flew out from Shadramon's fists, flying down the alley directly at Jacob and Ranetsumon. "NO!" Ranetsumon growled, too weak to block Jacob from the attack. Izzy forced himself back behind the dumpster to avoid the powerful fire, his mouth open in shock.

The flames cleared up slowly, leaving flames swirling on various pieces of wood throughout the alley. "Oh my gosh…" Izzy peeked his head out into the alley to see Shadramon staring intensely at the end of the alley. He turned his head, scared to see what left. Ranetsumon, weakly standing, was covering parts of Jacob. "RANETSUMON! JACOB!" He yelled, unintentionally drawing Shadramon's attention to him. "Uh oh…" He muttered as he saw Shadramon step towards him. "NO!" Ranetsumon roared and stood up, strength reentering his body along with anger. "WOLF'S ILLUSION! WOLF KNUCKLES!" The three Ranetsumon punched Shadramon, sending the Armor Digimon back, grunting and enraging it even further.

"Jacob… Are you okay?" Izzy ran to his friend, who lay on the floor. "Ha… Very funny." Jacob dryly spoke. "Be quiet. Save your energy." Izzy hushed him. "Ranetsumon…" Jacob coughed weakly and fell unconscious. "Oh no…" Izzy's eyes widened and he looked up at Ranetsumon, who was still split in three and attacking Shadramon, who was taking all of the hits without breaking a sweat. "GRAH!" Ranetsumon fired off another Wolf Knuckles before collapsing onto the ground. "RANETSUMON!" Izzy yelled and stared at Shadramon, who stood over the digimon. "Jacob…" Ranetsumon reached for his partner, who lay unconscious on the ground. "Ranetsumon, remember what he said before the attack! You are his best friend, and you mean so much to him. You can do it! Control your anger and turn it into the compassion and happiness that he tried to show to Shadramon, so that you can stop him!" Izzy yelled. Ranetsumon nodded, and slowly stood up again. "I will always fight for my friend, for his happiness, and for his dedication to cheering us up in the face of sure defeat." Ranetsumon growled once more as Jacob's Crest began to glow.

"RANETSUMOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON!" The champion digimon shined a bright white light as his fur fell off to reveal a much more pale skin color. Ranetsumon's eyes changed to a deep purple color, giving him a mysterious appearance. "DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" The brass knuckles on Ranetsumon's fists dropped off and his claws elongated and changed color to a blood red color. A black moon inside of a circle appeared on his torso and was outlined in a thin golden line. "TORNAMON!" Tornamon spun in a circle, creating a tornado and throwing it up into the air, where it dispersed.

Tornamon glared at Shadramon, who stood there, not fazed by the digivolution. "HIYAH! TORNA TERRA POWER!" He began spinning in a circle, creating a miniature tornado, which sucked up any loose objects nearby, not including Izzy or Jacob behind him. Once the tornado had gained a sizable amount of material, Tornamon threw it into the air, where Shadramon watched it come down right above Tornamon's head. "WIND STRIKER!" Tornamon jumped into the air and powerfully kicked the tornado directly at Shadramon, who seemingly recognized his defeat and took the hit directly to the chest. The Armor Digimon couldn't take the hit and was destroyed by the tornado, dissolving into data.

"TORNAMON! WE NEED TO GET IZZY TO THE HOSPITAL IMMEDIATELY!" Izzy yelled as the Ultimate-level digimon walked over to the two. "There's Kabuterimon. I'll lead you guys to the hospital. He's in a very serious condition." Izzy stared at the older boy. "Go. Message Michael and Linzi as well. They'll need to know so they can tell the others." Tornamon picked Jacob up gently and began running as Kabuterimon picked up Izzy. The group began heading to the hospital as fast as they could to save Jacob's life. While on Kabuterimon, Izzy sent Michael and Linzi a quick message that read, "Jacob seriously hurt fighting an Armor Digimon. Ranetsumon digivolved into Tornamon to beat it, but Jacob is in a very serious condition. We are en route to a hospital now." He sent the message and sighed heavily. "How am I going to explain this one to my parents… Along with Jacob's family in America…" He sat up again as he saw the hospital come into view. "It will happen as it does Izzy. Right now, Jacob's life is the priority." Kabuterimon reassured the boy, who nodded.

Shadramon, the powerful Armor Digimon, was defeated, but at what cost? Will Jacob make it through the night? Will the Digidestined ever find the 8th child or his/her digivice? And what other devious tricks will Myotismon find to beat the Digidestined? Find out, next week!


	34. SkullMeramon Tries Tokyo Tower!

Disclaimer! I own only my OCs and potentially a few of the OC digimon. Everything else is owned by Saban Brands.

Hope you all enjoy and don't forget to review!

Try Chapter 34

Linzi woke with a start as the sun came through the window curtains in TK's room. "Good morning Linzi!" TK walked into the room, holding his digivice in his hand. "Mama said that we can go visit Matt today!" He smiled cheerfully. "That's great news, TK." Linzi yawned as she sat up. "Also, there was a message from Izzy on your digivice. I didn't look at it cause it's not for me, but I thought you'd like to know." He handed her digivice to the young girl. "Where's Torpedomon and Patamon, by the way?" She looked at her messages. "They're eating some breakfast. Mama loves them a lot already. She says they're like the dogs we never had." TK giggled. Linzi laughed quietly as she began reading the message. "Oh dear… TK, how soon can you be ready? We're going to have to go visit someone." Her face paled and she grabbed her clothes that were washed during the previous night.

"Ms. Ishida, I've got some bad news. TK and I will have to head into the city earlier than I thought last night." Linzi gave Ms. Ishida her digivice to read the message on it. The woman covered her mouth with her hand. "TK, finish up your cereal sweetie. Linzi, there's some cereal on the counter as well for you. Eat quickly." She went back to her room to finish getting ready. "Now, TK, Izzy and Jacob got in a bit of trouble last night, and Izzy messaged Michael and I to get us to the hospital as soon as possible. So, we've got to be quick about eating and getting there." Linzi explained quickly as TK put on a serious face and nodded. "Maybe Patamon will be able to help. He's good at stuff like that." TK wondered. "I think that's what Izzy was thinking too." Linzi turned to her partner and fed her some of the cereal.

"Alright you two. Let's get going. Patamon, Torpedomon, you'll have to sit in the back. We've got to get to the hospital nearest the large radio tower as fast as possible." Ms. Ishida pushed the others in front of her as they made their way down to the bottom floor of the apartment building. "Hey! It's more of those monsters!" A stranger on the streets pointed to Patamon and Torpedomon, who glared at the man. "THEY'RE OUR FRIENDS! THEY HELP US BEAT THE EVIL GUYS!" TK yelled before being picked up by his mom. "No time to explain, TK, we've got to hurry." Linzi ran ahead of the group, looking across the water at the other side of the town. "Um… The ferry isn't running today." Linzi stared at the sign. "Hello? Am I chopped squid?" Torpedomon poked Linzi with her horn. "Oh, that's right." Linzi giggled. "Ms. Ishida, I don't know if Torpedomon can take all of us over, but she can take at least two." Linzi told TK's mom. "You two need to go across." Ms. Ishida said immediately. "If you're sure…" Linzi stared into the water. "Let's go, Torpedomon." The digimon jumped into the water. "TORPEDOMON DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO DOLFINOMON!" The digimon let Linzi sit gently on her back. "Come on TK, I've got you." The little boy was handed off from his mom to Linzi, as Dolfinomon began to ready herself. "Come back quickly, please." Ms. Ishida stared off towards the city.

Michael, already awake, was sitting quietly next to Matt as Michael started to walk Matt through the beginning steps of meditation. "It's all about deep breaths. In… And out…" Michael snapped out of his meditation as Mr. Ishida's footsteps intensified as he ran into the room. "Boys. We've got to go now." He handed the two their digivices as Chinchilmon and Gabumon walked into the room, worry in their eyes. "What's up?" Matt accepted his digivice while Michael read his messages. "Oh no…" Michael gasped. "Jacob's in trouble. He was really hurt fighting a fire digimon, and he and Izzy are in a hospital getting Jacob's injuries checked out. Apparently it's really bad." Michael stood up and helped Matt up. "We'll take the van to the hospital. Apparently, it's really near work. Hopefully, Ms. Ishida will understand why we're late picking up TK." The older man massaged his forehead. "No worries about that. Izzy sent the message to Linzi and I." Michael told him. "Wait, maybe we should go tell Izzy's parents what's happening first. Linzi and TK are probably on their way to the hospital." Matt spoke up.

"That's a good idea. Do you know where he lives?" Michael asked Matt. "I do. His parents used to be patrons of the radio station, so I have their address." Mr. Ishida pulled an address book out of a drawer in the kitchen. "Let's go, boys. We'll need to move fast." He ran out the door as Michael and Matt followed him, their partners trailing behind them. "WATCH OUT! THERE ARE MORE CREATURES FOLLOWING YOU!" A woman screamed and pointed at Chinchilmon and Gabumon as they jumped into the van. Michael clenched his teeth and growled softly. "Let it go. They don't know anything, just that the creatures are normally bad." Mr. Ishida put his hand on the back of Michael's neck, causing the boy to tense up. Matt stared at the boy, concerned. "Let's just get to the Koushiro's household." Michael muttered quietly.

"Do we know what apartment they're in?" Matt looked at the directory. "Koushiro is on the third floor." Mr. Ishida pointed to the K section and the three plus their two digimon ran into the elevator, trying to beat time to make it to the Koushiros before they began to worry. "I'll knock." Matt reached up to the knocker and clicked it three times, not waiting long before the door creaked open. "Hello? May I help you?" Mr. Koushiro stood in his pajamas. "Hi, Mr. Koushiro. We have some news for you considering Izzy and his friend, Jacob." Mr. Ishida quietly said. "They're in Izzy's room right now, if you need them." Mrs. Koushiro peered around her husband. "No, they're not. May we come in? We need to explain something." Matt asked courteously. "Of course, come right in and make yourself at home." Mr. Koushiro opened his door and let the other three, as well as the two digimon in. "Don't worry, they won't hurt you. They're our friends." Michael reassured them. "Does this have anything to do with the story that Izzy said that he had to tell us once his friend felt better?" Mrs. Koushiro showed her concern in her eyes. "Yes, it does, and while we can't explain all of it right now, it relates a lot to what's happening now." Matt nodded. "This is going to be a long story then…" Mr. Koushiro sat down.

Linzi stared up at the radio tower. "TK, do you know where the hospital is?" She turned to the little boy. "I think it's over there, on the other side of the street." TK pointed at the big building with the Red Cross on it."That makes sense." Linzi nodded and turned to her partner. "Torpedomon, Patamon, we don't know what condition Jacob is in right now, so if we need to, shield TK's eyes." She ordered them. "Yes ma'am." Torpedomon nodded, as she had just dedigivolved. "Let's be quick now." The quartet walked into the hospital and up to the front desk. "We're looking for a Jacob Torres?" She asked the receptionist. "He is in the Urgent Care unit, Room 209. Do be warned, he is not awake." The receptionist smiled kindly at Linzi and TK. "Thank you." TK piped up as he, Linzi, and their partners walked into the elevator, getting many stares from the others in the hospital.

"This is Room 209." Linzi opened the door to see Izzy, Tentomon, and Genomon next to a bed. "Hey guys." Izzy yawned tiredly as he stared at Jacob, lying, heavily burnt on the hospital bed. "The doctors said that he's in stable condition, but still serious." Tentomon buzzed softly. "Patamon, isn't there something that you can do?" TK looked at his partner. "Well… Maybe… Is this room big enough for me to digivolve?" Patamon looked up to the ceiling. "Maybe if you start from the floor." Genomon quietly piped up. "Well, it never hurts to try." Torpedomon moved to the side. "PATAMON DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO ANGEMON!" Angemon's helmet stood just underneath the ceiling, leaving him with enough room to stand. "That's enough room." TK smiled at his partner. "Now, let me try this." Angemon held his staff out. "SHINING LIGHT!" A bright light appeared in the room and sent itself at Jacob, who flinched when the light touched his body. "Woah!" Linzi covered her eyes as the light intensified right before it dissipated.

When it had faded, Jacob lay there, still unconscious, but no longer covered in the fierce burns. "Oh my… It actually worked." TK smiled. "Thank you, Angemon." He hugged his partner, who dedigivolved into Patamon at that moment. "It's a miracle!" Genomon gasped. "Well, I'm an angel digimon for a reason!" Patamon puffed his chest out, proud of himself. "That you are." Linzi nodded. "We should call the doctor to check on Jacob now." Izzy reached out to press the button, but was quickly stopped by Tentomon. "Izzy, wait. There's no telling what the doctor would do if he saw all of us in here with our partners." Linzi stopped the boy. "Uh… But Jacob might need to be checked out since he's been healed…" Izzy muttered quietly. "That's right, but not with us here. When your parents get here, then you can call the doctor. We'll have to leave at that point." Linzi countered. "Very well…" Izzy sighed. "IZZY!" His parents ran through the door. "Oh sweetie, are you okay?" His mom hugged Izzy. "Guys, be safe. We've got to go now. Call the doctor when we get out of here." Linzi told Mr. Koushiro.

Linzi, TK, and their partners quickly left the room and left Jacob and Izzy with Izzy's parents, Genomon, and Tentomon. They ran into Michael and Matt and their partners outside the hospital. "Hey guys. How's Jacob?" Michael asked quickly. "He's all taken care of. Patamon digivolved and managed to heal him, so he'll be okay after a day or so of rest." Linzi told him. "That's great news!" Chinchilmon cheered and jumped onto Michael's head. "Now, how about we start looking for that final digidestined?" Matt asked, getting a hug from his brother. "That sounds like a great idea!" TK giggled and the group walked off into the city.

Mimi woke with a stretch as the sun beamed into her eyes. "Good morning world!" She smiled and sat up cheerfully. "You are so cheerful for this early in the morning." Taylor yawned as she opened her eyes. "There's always something to be cheerful about." Mimi smiled as her parents walked into the room. "Good morning girls! Did you sleep well?" Mrs. Tachikawa handed the girls a plate of food. "Breakfast is eaten in the sitting room." Mr. Tachikawa walked out of the room and left the girls to get ready for the day. "Now, Mimi, you and Taylor will be going out today, right?" Mrs. Tachikawa asked. "That's right! We're meeting Sora and Ally by Tokyo Tower." The younger girl confirmed. "You promise that you'll take care of my little daughter?" She then turned her attention to Taylor, who grinned and threw her arm around Mimi's shoulder. "You betcha! She'll be perfectly safe as long as she has me and Palmon here." Taylor nodded as Mrs. Tachikawa laughed at Palmon's attempts to make Mimi laugh.

"Alright, if you're sure then." Mrs. Tachikawa smiled and left the room to join her husband. "Thanks. My parents can be a bit overprotective sometimes." Mimi smiled and hugged Taylor. "I know what it's like to have overprotective parents. It's no problem." Taylor smiled right on back. "We should probably go eat, so we can get going to Tokyo Tower sometime soon." She stood up, food in hand, and walked out to the sitting room, leaving Mimi and Palmon in her room. "Coming, Mimi?" Palmon asked her friend. "Yeah, in a second. I've got to get ready." Mimi reached to the side for her makeup box. "What's that?" Palmon asked as Mimi opened it. "It's a bunch of things that I can put on my face or my hands to make myself look prettier." She smiled as she began to apply a basic layer of foundation. "Why do you need that? You're so pretty just being you." Palmon walked out of the room, leaving Mimi staring at the door, her jaw dropped. She turned back to her mirror and shakily continued to apply her foundation.

Taylor waved goodbye to the Tachikawa parents as she and Mimi walked out the door with Palmon. "How far is Tokyo Tower?" Taylor asked. "It's not too far. It should be just a few miles that way." Mimi pointed to the right. "Normally, I'd take a taxi, but it's nice enough of a day that we should be able to just walk." She smiled and began walking in that direction, Palmon and Taylor following her. "It's actually really nice out today." Palmon smiled as her friend embraced the outdoors. "It's at least as nice, if not way nicer than the weather in the Digital World." Taylor looked up at the sun. "Ooooh! I have an idea to avoid the strange looks that we'll get from people regarding Palmon." She whispered to Mimi. "That's a great idea!" Mimi began to laugh as she dragged Palmon towards a store. "Oh no…" The plant digimon groaned as she was pulled inside the clothing store.

Mimi walked outside with Palmon in her new "disguise." Taylor began to laugh as Palmon, wearing a bright yellow sunhat, pink sunglasses, and an oversized red turtleneck. "Red is SO not my color!" Palmon protested as she tried to wiggle out of the shirt. "Now, now, this is just a temporary disguise!" Mimi laughed as well as the three continued on their walk down to the Tokyo Towers.

Sora ran out the door as she waved goodbye to her mom. "BYE MOM!" She smiled as her mom waved. Biyomon hopped in Sora's arms, and Ally walked behind the girl. "Roomon, you there?" She called out as her partner jumped out of the kitchen. "Thank you, again, Mrs. Takenouchi. I greatly appreciate you allowing me to stay." She bowed and picked up Roomon. "Ally, it's my pleasure. You are a lovely young lady, and I'm very glad that my Sora has a friend like you." Mrs. Takenouchi smiled at the girl. "Thank you very much." Ally blushed slightly. "Just be careful at the Tokyo Tower. I know that there will be three digimon there, but there's no telling what could happen with that evil digimon out there." Mrs. Takenouchi reminded Ally. "Absolutely. I've got Michael and Tiffany able to come as soon as possible if we get into trouble." She reassured the woman. "That's right." Mrs. Takenouchi nodded.

"Where are the Tokyo Towers?" Ally asked Sora. "They're just right over there. Mimi lives a lot farther away than I do, so that's why we left later. Hopefully we can meet her there." Sora pointed to the tall tower. "Oh… So that's the Tokyo Tower." Ally laughed. "Let's go then! What are we waiting for?" Roomon piped up from her perch on Ally's shoulder. "There's no better time than the present!" Biyomon smiled and began to walk towards the Tower. "Hopefully there's nothing major happening today." Ally peered into the square. "It looks like there's a festival going on I think. It should be easy to find Mimi then." Sora laughed. "She'll be power shopping somewhere, so we'll find her if we just follow the trail of pink bags."

"HEY MIMI! OVER HERE!" Sora yelled as she spotted the girl. "Let's follow her." Ally told the girl as Mimi and Taylor paid no heed to the girl. "Girls!" Ally yelled as they got closer. Taylor and Mimi turned around quickly and smiled when they saw the other girls. "Hey guys!" Mimi hugged Sora, and Taylor and Ally also hugged. "It's good to see you guys. How has the real world been?" Ally asked Taylor. "It's definitely different compared to the Digital World." She joked. "Let's see what there is to see in the Towers." Mimi dragged the girls, along with Biyomon, Palmon, and Roomon, to the Towers. "Look! It's so incredible!" Mimi stared up at the tower. "I wonder if there's any shopping to be done on the inside!" Taylor gasped. "Let's go check!" Mimi squealed and the group was dragged into the Towers. "It's nice and cool in here too, so that's a nice break from the heat outside." Ally noted, as the ground began to shake slowly, unbeknownst to the digidestined and Taylor.

"There are so many beautiful stores in here!" Mimi, with hearts in her eyes, pressed her nose up against the windows of the stores on the bottom floor. "Mimi! Remember? Supposed to be looking for the final digidestined?" Sora reminded the girl. "Oh, yeah… That's right." Mimi shook herself out of her shopping-induced craze. She quickly adjusted her makeup in the window as the shaking intensified. "Woah!" Taylor slipped as someone spilled their cup on the ground. "ICK!" She screamed as the blue liquid covered her shirt. "THIS IS SO GROSS!" She yelled as the noise level in the Tower slowly died down. "What's that shaking?" Ally noticed it first, glancing around. "Maybe an earthquake? They're fairly common around here." Sora shrugged and helped Taylor up. "This is way too long to be an earthquake." Mimi walked up to the doors to the outside. "It got dark all of a sudden too." She stared. "Let's get out of here. This doesn't feel safe." Palmon, quickly shedding her disguise, was on high alert. "I agree." Biyomon pushed Sora outside as the others followed her.

They came outside to hear screams throughout the area, and people running away from the eastern part of the Square. "What on earth is it?!" Taylor yelled as the girls ran to the eastern part. "WOAH!" Sora gasped as she saw the large digimon that stood there. "GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" The digimon reached for the base of the Tower. "OH NO YOU DON'T!" Biyomon cried out as she flew up to the creature. "BIYOMON DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO BIRDRAMON!" The fiery orange bird knocked away the digimon's hand. "What is that?!" Ally pulled out her digivice and looked at the digimon. "SkullMeramon is an Ultimate level digimon that is covered in blue fire. It's nastiness is complemented by its punk-rock look, with its Chain of Pain attack making you feel the burn!" Her digivice read off as Birdramon was knocked out of the air by said Chain of Pain. "Palmon, you've got to help too!" Mimi told her partner. "I'm on it!" Palmon ran towards SkullMeramon. "PALMON DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO TOGEMON!" Togemon punched SkullMeramon and knocked the digimon over, melting the ground around it as SkullMeramon landed on the ground.

"I HEARD YOU LIKE NEEDLE SPRAY!" Togemon growled and attacked SkullMeramon. However, the needles bounced off of SkullMeramon's flames harmlessly. "Um…" Mimi stared at SkullMeramon. "Roomon is too weak right now. She still needs time to restore energy before she digivolves again." Ally fretted as SkullMeramon stood up again. "This isn't exactly a good matchup…" Taylor stared as Birdramon fired off a Meteor Wing that was simply absorbed by SkullMeramon's flames. "GRAAAAAAAAAAH! METAL FIREBALL!" The ball of melted metal fired itself from SkullMeramon's mouth, knocking into both Togemon and Birdramon, sending them to the ground. "TOGEMON!" Mimi cried out. "BIRDRAMON! ARE YOU OKAY?!" Sora, concerned for her partner, yelled. "Time for an SOS message." Ally pulled out her digivice as SkullMeramon began walking towards Tokyo Tower again. "Message Tiffany: Need help immediately at Tokyo Tower. SkullMeramon defeated both Togemon and Birdramon. Tokyo Tower in grave danger, as well as the surrounding areas." She sent the message and watched as Togemon and Birdramon tried to stall for time.

"Tai. We've got to go, now." Tiffany walked onto the balcony, where Tai was standing, looking over at the small park near his house. "What's up?" He asked, slightly melancholy. "Taylor, Sora, Mimi, and Ally are in trouble. SkullMeramon attacked Tokyo Tower and defeated Togemon and Birdramon." She explained quickly. "My dad won't let me leave." Tai sat down on the balcony. "Sweetie, as tough as it may be, this is one of those times where it is okay to disobey your dad's orders." She hugged him. "I just don't want him to hurt me or something…" Tai murmured quietly. "Has he hurt you before?" Tiffany lowered her voice. "I'd rather not talk about it…" Tai forced a smile. "No worries. Let's go get that SkullMeramon!" He ran into the house and picked up his digivice. "Let's go!" He smiled at Tiffany, who stared worriedly at the young boy. "Azuremon, let's go ahead and digivolve so we can get there faster." Tiffany told her partner. "Absolutely." Azuremon nodded. "Agumon, let's go." Tai called for his partner. "I'm right here!" Agumon nodded and appeared. Azuremon, standing on the balcony, jumped into the air. "AZUREMON DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO TAIONGMON!" The larger digimon picked up Tiffany and Tai, letting Tai hold Agumon. "Let's be quick. Tokyo Tower isn't far from here, but we need to get there as soon as possible." Tiffany glanced at the tower in the distance.

"TIFFANY!" Ally spotted the girl and Taiongmon jumping from rooftop to rooftop. "OVER HERE!" Mimi yelled as Palmon, exhausted, collapsed in her arms. "Biyomon, please be careful…" Sora stared up at SkullMeramon, who glared at the digimon. "HOW DARE YOU?!" It yelled and slowly began to reach for the girls. "AGUMON!" Tai yelled as the four came into reach. "LET'S GO!" Agumon yelled and jumped towards SkullMeramon. "AGUMON DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO GREYMON!" Greymon tackled SkullMeramon and knocked it on the ground again. "NOVA BLAST!" Greymon's powerful attack blasted SkullMeramon and forced a groan out of SkullMeramon. "HIYAH! BLADE OF THE FAIR!" Taiongmon's staff glowed equal parts red, yellow, and green as it struck SkullMeramon. "GROAAAAAAAAAGH!" SkullMeramon stood up again and shook Greymon off. "CHAIN OF PAIN!" The attack was sent directly at the group of girls, who began to run away from the attack. "NOT TODAY!" Tai yelled as his Crest began to glow.

. "GREYMON DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Greymon's skull became cloaked in a digizoid chrome metal, and claws on both of Greymon's hands were created from the same material. He gained a cannonlike weapon on his chest that opened up and shot too warning shots at the ground near him, creating a large explosion. A pair of wings also grew out from Greymon's back, made of the same digizoid chrome metal as his skull. "HIYAH! METALGREYMON, THE WARRIOR OF COURAGE!" MetalGreymon stopped SkullMeramon in his tracks.

"Fly up into the air, NOW!" Tai yelled as MetalGreymon took SkullMeramon away from the Tower, so that it couldn't grab the Tower. "LET'S GO!" Tiffany yelled. "BLADE OF COURAGE!" Taiongmon's staff glowed orange and the attack sent itself at SkullMeramon. "GIGA BLASTER!" MetalGreymon let go of SkullMeramon and the two attacks collided with SkullMeramon, high in the sky, creating a chain of explosions that destroyed SkullMeramon. "There we go." Ally nodded as MetalGreymon dedigivolved into Agumon, and Taiongmon dedigivolved to Azuremon. "That's how we do it guys." Mimi smiled. "Thanks so much. We were almost goners." Sora gave Tai a quick hug, feeling the boy tense up. She glanced at Tiffany, who frowned slightly. "Let's get out of here before the police get here." Taylor suggested. "I'm not opposed to that idea." Tiffany nodded and they began to walk away from the Tower. "Did you guys have any luck with finding the final digidestined?" Tai asked and Sora shook her head. "We had only been here for a little bit when SkullMeramon appeared…" Biyomon weakly whispered. "Take it easy." Sora told her partner. "I'll try…" Biyomon fell asleep.

Somehow, Myotismon still manages to find more challenges to throw at the Digidestined! With each new digimon being stronger than the last, will the digidestined ever be able to defeat Myotismon and find the final Digidestined?


	35. A Night Out in the City!

Disclaimer! I own only my OCs and potentially a few of the OC digimon. Everything else is owned by Saban Brands.

Hope you all enjoy and don't forget to review!

A/N: WARNING! IF YOU HAVE A TRIGGER RELATED TO RAPE, UNWANTED SEXUAL ADVANCES, OR ABUSE, THIS IS THE ONE CHAPTER THAT YOU WILL WANT TO SKIP! This chapter is not critical to the plot at all and is purely optional, so you won't miss anything if you skip it. Your mental health is the most important thing for me to consider when writing, and I feel that it is best noted to include a warning at the beginning of this chapter.

Try Chapter 35

Kari sat on her couch, looking out onto the balcony of her family's apartment. She smiled softly and got up to grab a coloring book from her room, humming while she did. The little girl completely missed the small cat digimon jumping onto the balcony and running into the apartment. The small digimon held up a tag that held a pink crest in it with a pink eight-point star that faintly shined pink. 'The digivice isn't here… The digidestined don't have it.' The cat digimon jumped behind the couch as Kari came out of her room that she shared with Tai. "Home by myself is the perfect time to color." She giggled softly as she sat back down on the couch and opened the book to a new page.

From behind the couch, Gatomon breathed a sigh of relief as she saw that it was the little girl instead of Tai. 'We'll just make our escape easily, and leave a message then.' Gatomon jumped up onto the back of the couch and raised her paw, ready to swipe down and slash the back of the little girl's neck. However, she couldn't bring herself to bring her paw down. It was like there was another force in Gatomon's mind that was telling Gatomon, no, screaming at the digimon that it would be the worst mistake that she could ever make. However, Gatomon knew her mission and right as she was about to hurt Kari, the little girl turned around and saw Gatomon balancing on three feet on the top of the couch, one paw raised towards her. Gatomon meowed in panic and fell onto the couch, landing in Kari's lap. "Aren't you a silly little kitty." Kari giggled and picked Gatomon up, much to her displeasure. "Let's get you outside before mom and dad get home and think I picked up another stray." Kari smiled and scratched Gatomon behind the ears, getting a purr out from the digimon, who snapped herself out of it. She wriggled out of Kari's grasp and ran to the balcony, jumping into the nearby tree, right as the tag and crest began shining a bright pink light. "It's near here? What? It should've picked up the digivice up there, then!" Gatomon gasped as she saw a small raven fly up into the air with a digivice that was also glowing pink. "Time to follow that raven." She hissed and jumped out of the tree, running as fast as she could.

Surrounded by city lights, Michael, Matt, TK, Linzi, and their partners walked down a street in the commercial section of Odaiba. "Hey everybody, it's a train!" TK cheered. "Let's go ahead and take the train to the other side of the city and Setagaya so you can get home TK." Matt pointed to the train. "I've got money to pay for tickets." Michael held out a wallet, and Linzi looked at his suspiciously. "You didn't have money in the digital world…" She whispered as Michael nervously blushed. "What can I say? I'm really good at making quick cash." He ran ahead with Chinchilmon, TK, and Patamon, while Matt and Linzi took their time. "It'll take a little bit for them to actually get tickets. Just look at the lines. There's no rush." Matt told Linzi. "I agree. Michael's always wanted to get in line first I guess, so there's no changing that." She laughed as well. Torpedomon and Gabumon stared at the harsh bright lights contrasting the dark color of the city buildings. "The human world is much less beautiful than the Digital World." Gabumon quietly acknowledged and got a nod out of Torpedomon. "There's much less beauty in the world, but the innovation that humans have shown far surpass many of our inventions back home." Torpedomon poked a light pole, which sparked and startled the seal digimon. "Woah!" She gasped, and chased after Matt and Linzi, who had made it to where Michael, TK, and their partners were. "Let's hurry onto the train!" Gabumon followed Torpedomon.

A pair of voices could be heard over the bustle of traffic in Odaiba, near another train station. "Hey, look at all these humans! Is this what humans in cities look like? They look so boring." A small digimon covered in a white suit wearing a pumpkin head peered over the window shield of a car. "What do you say we introduce them to some fun, buddy?" His partner, a small digimon encompassed in rocks, cackled. "Why, Gotsumon, that's a brilliant idea! Maybe they'll name a monument after you for that! The Gotsumon-ument!" Gotsumon's partner laughed. "Pumpkinmon, only after they all celebrate your pranks!" Gotsumon giggled and the two jumped out into the crowd of people, cackling loudly.

"Finally… We've literally been waiting for this train for an hour." Linzi looked at the clock as their train pulled into the station. "Now, Matt, correct me if I'm wrong, but this train actually goes underneath the bay?" Michael asked Matt. "That's right. That's why, whenever the weather gets too bad, Odaiba and Setagaya aren't cut off from each other, because people just take the train." Matt nodded. "TK, let's get on the train bud." Matt handed TK his ticket, and made sure Patamon knew to stay still. "Everyone, pick up your digimon, okay? It's just easier that way." Michael nodded as Linzi hefted Torpedomon up, grunting as she quickly got on the train after showing the conductor her ticket. "Quickly, before they notice anything." Matt whispered and ushered TK on the train.

"Well, this might be a bit." TK sighed. "I know bud. You're tired, aren't you." Matt hugged his little brother as the train began to move. "It's 7:30 according to my digivice…" TK sighed and yawned. "I could just get off at the next stop and walk home… It would probably be quicker." TK looked around. "Absolutely not. It's not safe." Matt shot down the little boy's idea. "But why Matt? Me, Linzi, and our digimon can take care of ourselves." TK protested. "I want to get you all the way there. I have my reasons." TK pulled away from Matt to stare at his older brother. "But why?" TK stared innocently. "I want you to be safe, that's all…" Matt blushed slightly as TK smiled. "Thank you big brother."TK snuggled up to his brother as Patamon, from the top rack, as well as Gabumon, began to talk quietly. "TK lives with their mom, and Matt lives with their dad, right?" Patamon asked Gabumon, who nodded. "That's why they always try to stay together when they can, because they don't get to see each other that often." Gabumon told Patamon, who frowned. "That's really sad… I wish they could see each other more often… Cause this stuff is all really cute and sweet…" Patamon said, louder than he meant to, causing TK to tense up.

"Hey, quit it!" TK yelled at Patamon. "Chill out TK, he didn't mean anything by it." Matt noticed TK's temper slowly growing. "You don't have to be mean about it… I thought-" Patamon was cut off by TK again. "MIND YOUR OWN BEESWAX! Why are you listening to our conversation anyways?!" The little boy surprised Linzi and Michael by his outburst. "Well fine! I know when I'm not wanted, so I'll just leave!" Patamon yelled back at TK, starting to cry. The train slowed to a stop, as it was at its next stop. "HMPH!" Patamon flew out of the train as the door opened. "Patamon!" Chinchilmon yelled. "Come on guys! We've got to follow Patamon." Linzi stepped in front of the open door. "TK, are you coming? Patamon flew off the train!" Matt told his brother."…" TK turned around and avoided Matt's eyes. "Hurry! The doors are closing!" Gabumon prepared himself to hold the doors open. "OH NO!" TK turned around and ran after his partner, getting the others to follow him.

"Where on earth could Patamon have gone?" Matt looked around at the sky. "More importantly, where the heck are we?" Linzi turned around to try to read the signs. "I don't even know where any of this is…" TK turned around in a full circle, trying to figure out which way to go. "There's not a whole lot we can do until we find Patamon." Michael spotted a commotion. "Hey, guys? I think there's some trouble brewing over there." Michael pointed to where the street turned sharply to the right. "Let's go! There might be a digimon there!" Chinchilmon, Torpedomon, and Gabumon ran towards the crowd, leaving the four humans to run after the trio. "Oh no… I wish they wouldn't rush ahead so much." Linzi sighed.

"It looks like a few rogue digimon are being silly…" Michael sweatdropped at seeing the two small digimon. "Torpedomon, these little guys aren't going to do much. It looks like its just for fun…" Linzi walked up to Pumpkinmon and Gotsumon and got two pies to the face. "Well, that was rude!" She huffed and wiped the pie off of her face. "Teeeheeeheee!" Pumpkinmon nimbly jumped onto the roof of a car. "I heard you liked pie!" He cackled and threw another pie at Chinchilmon, who dodged it. "HMPH! You could learn a lesson or two in respect!" The little digimon huffed and started to charge at Pumpkinmon, but was stopped by Gotsumon, who surprised Chinchilmon by blaring an airhorn in his ear. "OWIE!" Chinchilmon growled. "HAHAHAHA! This is so much more fun than working for Myotismon!" Gotsumon cheered and Matt raised an eyebrow. "Um… You guys work for Myotismon?" He asked Gotsumon and Pumpkinmon as they drew close to him. "Technically, yes, but we don't actually do anything. He's kinda mean, and we just want to have fun here." Pumpkinmon explained before throwing a pie in TK's face, who laughed licked the pie off of his face. "That's yummy!" TK smiled and stuck his tongue out in Pumpkinmon's face.

"Do you guys like our pranks?" Gotsumon's jaw dropped. "You betcha! Pranks are a great way to relieve stress." Linzi nodded. "Our digimon friends may not like it, but I think they're pretty fun!" TK giggled. "Wow! Nobody likes our pranks, so this is brand new for us!" Pumpkinmon picked TK up and gently threw the boy into the air, letting Matt catch him. "Woah! I got you buddy." He put TK down as the boy giggled madly again. "Oh, that reminds me…" Michael started. "On your pranks through the city, have you seen a little Patamon flying around?" He asked. "Well… Now that you mention it… There was a little orange rodent flying around that way…" Gotsumon pointed to the busier part of the commercial district of Odaiba. "Mind if we come with you guys to look for him?" Pumpkinmon asked. "Yeah! I'd love for you to come with us." TK smiled and hugged the two rookie digimon. "Well, I guess let's go then." Gabumon shrugged and started into the busy commercial district.

"HEY! Look at this!" Pumpkinmon pointed into a costume shop. "Aww, those are really cute!" Torpedomon put her nose to the glass window and looked at the pink dresses. "I want to try them on!" Gotsumon laughed and broke the glass, reaching in and taking the dress. "You try one on, Pumpkinmon!" Gotsumon handed one of the dresses to Pumpkinmon, who quickly slid the dress on. Matt and Linzi stared at the broken glass, hearing the alarms going off around them. "Uh… Guys? Shouldn't we get out of here?" Torpedomon turned around and saw a number of sirens coming this way. "This isn't good news guys." Linzi stared at the two rookie digimon, who were drawing a large crowd with their dancing. "Ah, it's nothing so far. There's been way worse." Michael seemed unfazed by the two digimons' shenanigans. "They're having so much fun!" TK was laughing and clapping along to the nonexistent beat that the two digimon were dancing to.

"Um… Guys… We might be in some serious trouble soon." Matt, looking back up at the sky again, pointed to the oddly dark clouds coming over the already dark sky. "Dark clouds? Can't be good." Michael agreed. "Linzi, let's spread out. We don't want to all be in the same spot like a flock of sitting ducks." Chinchilmon hopped onto Michael's shoulder as he slipped into a back alley. "Time to go blend in. You guys be careful." Linzi and Torpedomon slowly moved away from the three digimon, Matt, and TK. "Let's be careful, TK. I know you're having fun, but there's a pretty good chance that we could be in some serious trouble right now." Matt whispered to his brother, who was still cheerfully clapping at Gotsumon and Pumpkinmon's dances. "We just want to have fun all day!" The two rookies cheered as the crowed surrounding them began to clap after they finished a dance.

"PUMPKINMON! GOTSUMON! YOU USELESS SERVANTS!" Matt froze up as he heard the all too familiar voice. "Myotismon. TK, get under cover." Matt ordered his brother. "You don't have a digimon right now, and this is too dangerous." TK opened his mouth to protest but was quickly shut down. "There he is, Gabumon. You see him?" Matt pointed up to the sky, where Myotismon was quickly flying down towards the two Rookie digimon as Gabumon nodded. "WHY ARE YOU NOT SEARCHING FOR THE 8TH CHILD?" Myotismon roared. "We got bored, so we decided to have some fun here! Look at how many people there are!" Pumpkinmon naively expressed his feelings. "Do you think I care if you get bored or not? NO! I DO NOT!" Myotismon growled, sending the crowds of people running. "Give it a second…" Matt hissed to Gabumon, who was about ready to charge at Myotismon to protect the two naïve digimon. "Well… We don't care what you think! So there!" Gotsumon stuck his tongue out at Myotismon.

"That is the last mistake you will ever make." Myotismon hissed. "CRIMSON LIGHTNING!" He summoned two whips of red lightning, crackling with power. "GRAH!" He grabbed Pumpkinmon and Gotsumon and threw them into the nearby building, destroying the two fun-loving digimon instantly, sending rubble onto the streets. "Now… It seems that I'll have to do some searching myself here!" Myotismon grinned deviously. "GRIZZLY WING!" He sent an attack directly at a large cluster of people. "GABUMON, NOW!" Matt yelled, revealing TK, Gabumon, and himself. "YOU WON'T HURT THEM! GABUMON DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO GARURUMON!" Garurumon stood in front of the cluster as TK and Matt began to get them to move. "HOWLING BLASTER!" Garurumon stopped the bats from coming any closer. "Like you can beat me! CRIMSON LIGHTNING!" Myotismon grabbed Garurumon, sending more power through the whip than he had before. "GARURUMON!" Matt yelled as he turned around to see his partner in pain. "IT'S TIME TO DIGIVOLVE!" Matt's Crest began to glow as Garurumon began to shine a bright light.

"GARURUMON!" The four-legged wolf-like creature stood up on his hind legs and a pair of tattered blue jeans appeared, with leather pads appearing over his kneecaps. A pair of fingerless gloves appeared on both of his hands, while on the left arm, a protective layer of dark blue mesh appeared. "DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" His left shoulder became encased in a brown, metallic looking-sphere that created a leather strap that crossed his torso diagonally to reach the top of his jeans. A pair of shin guards with metal spikes also appeared, while a metal chain wrapped itself around his right forearm. "WEREGARURUMON!"

Weregarurumon broke free of the lightning and punched Myotismon in the face, angering the powerful digimon. "A simple digivolution will not help you against ME! GRIZZLY WING!" Myotismon changed targets quickly and aimed the attack directly at TK, who was standing out in the open near an alleyway. "TK!" Patamon came flying out of the alley, worried for his friend. "I'm so sorry TK… Can we still be friends?" Patamon landed on TK's hat, still oblivious to the incoming attack. "Of course we can Patamon! Friends stick together forever!" TK laughed and hugged his friend. "TK! WATCH OUT!" Matt yelled, alerting his little brother to the impending attack. "OOH! I'VE GOT THIS!" Patamon flew at the attack, determined to protect TK. "PATAMON DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO ANGEMON!" Angemon spun his staff rapidly and pointed it at the incoming swarm of bats. "HAND OF FATE!" The attack punched through the bats, destroying the majority of them and hitting Myotismon, stunning the Vampire digimon. "There we go, Angemon!" TK cheered as Myotismon floated back up into the sky. "This isn't the last time I'll see you, digidestined scum. Just be aware that I have found something that is far more important than destroying your puny digimon and yourselves." Myotismon laughed evilly and returned to his carriage as the dark clouds moved on.

Weregarurumon dedigivolved into Gabumon and Angemon dedigivolved into Patamon. "Thanks a lot guys!" TK hugged Patamon. "You guys definitely came in at the right time." Matt told Gabumon, who smiled. "It's our pleasure to help." He told Matt, who hugged his friend. "Where's Linzi and Michael?" TK asked, looking around. "I know Linzi went that way…" Matt pointed to an alleyway across the street. "You know what… TK, you stay here with Gabumon and Patamon. I'm going to go look for Linzi and Michael." Matt turned towards the alleyway and left his protesting brother next to the shattered glass window. "MATT! WAIT!" TK yelled as his brother ran out of earshot. "Linzi's right there…" TK's eyes widened as the girl ran towards TK.

In the dark alleyway, Matt turned a corner and ran into a dead end. "Well, she's not this way…" Matt sighed and turned around to be greeted by a rustling noise. "Who's there?" Matt called out, on guard. "Hiss…" A quiet noise came from behind a box. "I know someone's there." Matt began to back up slowly, slowly becoming more and more scared. He looked around for something to protect himself with, but found only the lid of a trash can. 'This could work for something…' He picked it up and looked around again. Nearly at the back of the alley, Matt heard the hissing noise intensify and glanced around again. "There's nothing here…" He muttered to himself, only to be corrected moments later.

"THAT'S WHAT YOU THINK!" From the box, a creepy little man stood up and stared crazily at Matt. "Who are you?!" Matt's eyes widened and he tried to move back farther, only to be stopped by the wall. "Nobody knows my name! Not even I do!" The man stepped closer to Matt, limping significantly. "What do you want?!" Matt put the trash can lid in front of him. "Oh darling, it's not what I want from you. It's what you want from me!" He giggled madly. "The only thing I want from you is to get away from me." Matt pushed himself into a corner, almost trying to climb the steep building walls. "Hee… Heeheehee! That's what you think, sonny!" The man slowly crept forward, creeping Matt out even more.

"Here… You want some of this, don't you?" The man held out his palm, revealing a small bag of some sort of dust-like substance. "Uh… No, I don't. You can back off now." Matt swatted the bag out of the man's hand with the trash can lid. "That was very kind of you." The man's scraggly beard shook slightly as the man himself curled a fist. "Didn't your mother tell you to treat others with kindness?" "Yeah, but she also taught me to not take stuff from creepy old men like you!" Matt made his move and threw the trash can lid at the man's face, surprising him. "HIYAH!" Matt dodged to the side as the man leapt for him, slamming face first into the wall. "GOTTA BLAST! NICE TO SEE YOU!" Matt yelled behind him as the frightened digidestined raced farther into the maze of alleyways.

"I should probably try to get out of here now…" Matt looked around, not recognizing any of his surroundings. "I'm in some real trouble now…" He stared at the sky, which was starting to become pitch black. "Mom's going to kill me for not getting TK home by now…" He sighed and turned around again. "Might as well try to retrace my steps." Matt made sure to take the exact path towards the alley where he had found the old man, hoping that he had gone off in search of a different victim rather than the Japanese digidestined of friendship. "Let's just keep going this way, and we should be good... I think." Matt picked his pace up to a run, and, upon turning a corner, promptly ran into another person, who immediately grabbed the boy and put him in a chokehold. "Don't move, little boy." The strong man growled. "I've been looking for someone like you all day. It took long enough for you to run into the alleys… Little boys shouldn't be stupid enough to do that." Matt began to panic as the strong man pulled him farther into the maze of alleys.

"Where could that dolt be?" Michael muttered to himself as Chinchilmon rode on his shoulder. "I came out right after Linzi, but TK said that he was already gone." Chinchilmon sighed. "No worries buddy. It's just a bit of searching. We'll find him soon enough." Michael, fortunately wearing dark clothing, blended easily into the dark walls and shadows of the alleyways. 'Gotta be fast. There's no telling what could be in these alleys.' Michael sped up, almost throwing Chinchilmon off his shoulder. "Got a bad feeling. It's good to go fast." He whispered to his partner, who nodded. "I have the same feeling." Chinchilmon confirmed. "No time to stop then, just go and we'll figure out what it is when we get to it." Michael created their game plan.

Matt had stopped moving and was struggling to breath when the strong man dropped him in another alley. "What are you going to do to me?" He gasped quietly as he massaged his throat. "Oh… Nothing too bad… That is, if you aren't afraid of a little fun…" The strong man slyly smiled as he grabbed a blindfold. "NO!" Matt yelled, kicking himself away from the man. "Oh… So you're going to fight, eh? That won't matter in a little bit." He ran at Matt, who tried his best to dodge. "A slippery little one… That'll make this that much better." The strong man successfully grabbed Matt's ankle and forcefully pulled the boy back towards him. "Now… Let's try this again…" He reached for the blindfold again and was slowly putting it over Matt's terrified eyes. "Now… Don't move a muscle... Hehe…"

"I should say the same thing about you." An ice-cold voice cut through the air, freezing the man in his tracks. "What are you going to do about it?" He challenged the voice. "Turn around and you'll find out." The strong man quickly turned around, letting Matt get the blindfold off of his eyes, and upon seeing the indistinct shape of another person, gasped. "Get out of here before I do something drastic. Your sort are the worst kind of people." The strong man nodded, eyes wide with fear, and ran out of the alleyway. "Hey bud. Are you okay? I hope that guy didn't do anything to you." Matt's savior helped Matt up. "Yeah… Other than a few bruises, I'll be fine. May I ask your name?" Matt confirmed. "My name? People around here call me Dagger." Dagger smiled coyly. "Dagger… Cool. My name's Matt." Matt smiled back. "Now, what's a little guy like you doing all the way back here?" Dagger asked the boy. "I was looking for another one of my friends who ran back here earlier after that weird thing attacked." Matt explained, trying to not give away any of his knowledge. "Really… Hm…" Dagger turned away from Matt. "Let's get you out to the streets. I think I have a feeling I know where your friend is." He grabbed Matt's hand and walked out into the main alleyway, almost running right into Michael.

"MATT! You stupid, stupid, dolt!" Michael gave the boy a bone-crushing hug and smacked him upside the head. "Ow! What was that for?" Matt rubbed the back of his head. "Well, I can only imagine it's for giving him a heart attack." Dagger remarked sarcastically. "Fair enough." Matt conceded. "What the heck were you doing back here anyways? Linzi was right behind you until you ran into the alleys." Michael stared at Matt. "I guess I wasn't thinking straight… Was tired after that fight with Myotismon and all, I guess." Matt yawned and almost fell asleep right there. "Hey, dude. You're lucky I found him when I did. The people in these alleys aren't good people, and one was trying to take advantage of him." Dagger knocked Michael on the shoulder. "Good thing we're about to leave. Thank you for saving him." Michael nodded. "It's no problem. The decent thing to do. The name's Dagger, by the way, if you ever see me around again." Dagger winked and began running into the alleys as Michael stared at him. "Chinchilmon, let's get Matt and TK home as soon as possible… This place is giving me the creeps." Michael picked up Matt and began running out of the alleys, Chinchilmon hot on his tail.

"It's going to be one long talk with both Mr. and Mrs. Ishida, isn't it…" Linzi sighed as she saw Matt, Chinchilmon, and Michael come out of the alleys. "Well, you weren't tired yet, so this will help!" Torpedomon laughed softly. "Hey guys. Let's get back on that train. We've got a number of sleepy little kids tonight." Linzi picked up TK, who had fallen asleep as well, while Torpedomon nudged Patamon awake so that the little mouse digimon could fly to the station. "Gabumon, you going to make it to the station?" Chinchilmon asked. "Yeah, I'll make it." Gabumon yawned sleepily. "This day was too eventful for me. Hopefully not all of these days are going to be like this." Michael paid for the tickets to Setagaya and the group got on board, where Matt, TK, and their partners quickly fell asleep. "I'll wake them when we get there." Linzi told Michael, who nodded. "Now, tell me what happened in that alley." She whispered intently to the boy, who sighed. "It's a bit of a long story that only Matt truly knows, so we might have to wait till he wakes up."

An eventful day comes to a close with a bang, as Myotismon attacks again! While the Digidestined are nowhere close to finding the final Digidestined, Myotismon seems to be slowly drawing closer to finding him or her! Will the Digidestined be able to stop the evil digimon from finding the final Digidestined, or are both worlds doomed for good?


	36. The Longest Night! Part 1

Disclaimer! I own only my OCs and potentially a few of the OC digimon. Everything else is owned by Saban Brands.

Hope you all enjoy and don't forget to review!

Try Chapter 36

Gatomon stared intently at the night sky as the moon slowly rose, heading away from the horizon as it rose. "I wonder where that final child is…" She muttered quietly. "We've been everywhere in Setagaya, so that means the child has to be in Odaiba." She looked around, unsure of her next move. "When we find the final child, does that mean Myotismon will be the supreme ruler of both worlds? Or will those digidestined still fight, regardless if the other digidestined will fight him." Gatomon got up from her spot on the balcony. "Hm… I don't know… It doesn't make such sense to me… But he's taken care of me all my life, so I've got to trust him." Gatomon shook her head, keeping her dissident thoughts to herself. "Maybe I should look elsewhere tonight." She began to climb up a building and started jumping to other buildings to make her way to Odaiba.

From the balcony below Gatomon, Dagger scrunched his forehead. 'Myotismon? Is that the thing that's behind all of the monster attacks lately?' He wondered. 'I think it would be worth my while to do some investigation on this thing.' Dagger decided quickly. The rogue pulled his black trench coat closer to his body while the wind blew. 'That Michael kid had the little thing with him, so he might know about Myotismon or something…' He pulled out a small grappling hook. 'First things first, check with the informant first.' Dagger jumped off of the building, firing the grappling hook, which caught on the bottom ledge of the building, slowly his descent enough for him to roll safely into a running start. The street-savvy young adult turned the corner into an alleyway and vanished from sight.

A small figure flew over the lake, muttering quietly to himself. The digimon landed on an island and stared towards the bridge. He adjusted his purple hat with a skull on it, preparing himself for his next move. Raising his staff with a sun carved out of wood on the tip, his purple cape fluttered in the wind as he rose up into the air again. "Gatomon. I must make you see what you were truly meant to be." The digimon began flying towards the bridge, where he could see through his pale eyes that Gatomon was running across. "Gatomon… You will have to listen to me." He shook the dirt off of his yellow pants and brown boots, with a moon on each of the shoes. "There's no other way. Otherwise, the world will be destroyed."

Ravenmon slowly opened up the window in Joe's room, quickly slipping out of the room, unbeknownst to a sleeping Gomamon, Joe, and Luke. 'I know I saw her. I felt her. She's nearby.' Ravenmon pictured the last time he had seen Gatomon before she was manipulated by Myotismon. 'It's been a long time, but surely, the sweet little kitten that existed then still exists now. Maybe I can snap her out of it…' Ravenmon flew off towards Odaiba, following his gut instinct as to where Gatomon was going. "Gatomon, I'll find you, one way, or another…" Ravenmon murmured as the night sky suddenly grew darker without warning. "What's going on?" Ravenmon's eyes widened as he saw Myotismon's carriage descend near Ravenmon. 'This might be my best chance to listen in on what's happening…' He thought to himself and landed on a rooftop near Myotismon's carriage.

The rookie level digimon shuddered as he heard Myotismon's sinister laugh. 'This isn't my best idea in the whole world…' Ravenmon thought to himself as DemiDevimon's small voice carried through the air as well. "Master, I found the final Digivice! Now all that's left to find is the final child!" Ravenmon briefly saw DemiDevimon hand the digivice to Myotismon before fluttering up again. 'That's not good.' Ravenmon flattened himself against the roof of the building as both DemiDevimon and Myotismon flew up into the air and into his carriage. 'So, we've got to find that final child, and fast.' Ravenmon made a mental note and began flying away from the two, searching for Gatomon again. 'If I can stop her now, that's another digimon on our side too.' Ravenmon aimed for Odaiba, going as fast as he could to beat the sun.

Jacob sat in his hospital bed, impatiently staring at the moon. He had been kept in the full day beforehand, so that the doctors could keep an eye on his condition, but he had watched the messages going back and forth on his digivice and was eager to help in whatever way he could. "Those doctors better let me out today, or I'm going to break out." The teen was detached from his IV and was free to move around the room, but having just woken up, he was in the bed. "Hey, Genomon? Do you get that feeling like something big is about to happen?" He asked his partner, who was snuggled up next to him. "A little bit… Why?" Genomon replied in the affirmative, talking quietly. "The battle with Myotismon is coming soon. It can't be more than a few days away." Jacob, feeling a massive headache coming on, went quiet.

"Jacob?" Genomon looked up at this partner. "Yeah buddy?" Jacob whispered quietly, trying to ease the headache. "What's the matter?" Genomon asked him, getting a start out of Jacob. "Honestly… I'm not sure…" Jacob sighed. "Can you try to explain it to me?" Genomon wasn't about to let Jacob drop it. "Again, I'm not sure if I can explain it without sounding like a total pansy." Jacob laughed harshly at himself. "I don't care about that. I just want to make you feel better." Genomon jumped up onto Jacob's chest, licking the teen's cheek. "I'll try, I guess…" Jacob sighed and hugged his partner. "You know how I've said in the past that my family life was perfectly normal and stuff? Well, that's not exactly true." He grabbed a pen and notebook from the dresser next to his bed. "See, while my life isn't near as bad as Ally's, or Michael's, it's still not great by any standards." The teen began doodling gently on the page, drawing a small house with his parents and himself in front of it.

"I was always a sickly kid, even by normal standards, so I stayed home a lot and got to spend a lot of time with my parents. It kinda led to me having a more isolated childhood than I probably should've had." Jacob quickly drew a small stick figure being rejected by a larger group of stick figures, the small stick figure labeled 'Jacob.' "People typically didn't get along with me because I didn't understand why I couldn't be friends with both Cole and Jessica, or why we couldn't all get along easily, so they turned their frustrations back on me." He drew a small hospital and an ambulance as well. "Over time, the boys would get progressively more physical, and eventually, one of them pushed me back while I was jumping to catch a ball." Jacob drew a small volleyball net and two figures near it. "I landed on one part of the volleyball net, and it seriously hurt me to the point where I almost died." He drew a line from the net back to the hospital.

Genomon snuggled into Jacob's arm, seeking to be a source of comfort for the boy. Jacob smiled at his partner, and continued on. "After that whole incident was over, my parents pulled me from that school and started homeschooling me, because it just wasn't working in the public schools." Jacob drew another house and wrote a sign that said 'School!' next to it. "Unfortunately, my parents weren't the best teachers, and as a result, a lot of my stuff was self-study." Jacob stared at the door, as he heard footsteps walk by them. "It's okay. They won't come in until the sun comes up." Genomon reassured him, getting him to relax a bit as Jacob continued to draw, now working on a small bed. "Being stuck at home was boring, plus with how much I was getting sick, I really couldn't do anything outside of my own home. My parents always meant the best for me, but it never really worked out." Jacob shrugged. "I kept getting progressively sicker till I went to the Digital World and met you." He finished quietly. "What kind of sickness?" Genomon prodded a little bit, as Jacob was withholding information. "The doctors weren't even sure. I was falsely diagnosed with Sickle Cell Anemia, Advanced Multiple Sclerosis, Bone Marrow failure, Friedreich's Ataxia, and a whole host of other things, but fortunately for me, it never got bad enough to where it threatened my life, really." Jacob shook his head and threw the notebook at the end of the bed. "You don't know how hard it is to have not had a full childhood. I never got to go play with kids my age because they made fun of me, or because I was too sick to get out of bed!" He yelled angrily and punched the air in front of him as he began to cry. "Oh no… Please don't cry…" Genomon hopped up onto his face and tried wiping away the tears. "It's okay, Jacob. I'm here to help you." Genomon reminded the teen, who nodded and gave Genomon a massive hug.

In Setagaya, Dagger stared down an unruly woman who was blocking the entrance between him and his informant. "What do you want?" The woman asked him. "I need in." Dagger spoke sharply. "What for?" The woman nonchalantly flipped her hair. "None of your business. Let me in." Dagger hissed, as the woman turned her attention back to him. "You got a problem with me askin' ya business?" Her tone became more aggressive. "Listen, little girl. Let me through and you won't get hurt." Dagger's black hat concealed his eyes. "I'm not lettin' ya through if ya don't tell me why ya here." The woman leaned up against the wall. "Move." Dagger pulled out the weapon that gave him his name. "Let me in." Dagger growled and the woman stared at the dagger, slowly moving out of the way. "Got it… Leave you alone…" She stammered as Dagger stalked into the alleyway where his informant was seated.

"Any and all information on a creature called Myotismon." Dagger demanded. "Myotismon…" His informant hemmed. "I know a bit about Myotismon… Why do you need to know about him?" The informant stared Dagger in the face. "Curiosity and a potential desire to save the world." Dagger spoke quickly. "Hm… Very well. Myotismon is a part of a system of digital creatures called Digimon. He, in particular, seems to be fixated on taking over the world. As of this moment in time, he seeks to kill a human who can partner with another digimon to strengthen that digimon. It is said that the two he seeks have the power and capability to destroy him." The informant spoke quietly, opening a small book given to him by his attendant. "What do I owe you?" Dagger asked, staring intently at the informant. "You know what you owe me." The informant smiled and cackled. "Got it. It will be appear soon." Dagger stalked out, his mind racing quickly.

'Now, I definitely need to find that Michael kid. He's got to have something to do with this.' Dagger pulled out his handy grappling hook and pulled himself up to the roof of a building. 'Myotismon, you have clearly underestimated the power of a vigilante.' Dagger looked at the sky as the moon reached its peak. "Let's go, Dagger. Let's show this bizarre creature that you don't mess with someone who doesn't follow the rules." He began running towards the edge of the building, jumping as he reached the edge, landing safely on the other building. 'It's time to find that teenager. Let's ask around a bit.' Dagger grinned as he continued jumping from building to building.

Michael stared into Mr. Ishida's eyes as Matt slowly crawled into bed, Gabumon and Chinchilmon looking after the young boy. "It's a long story, but he ran into a few dark alleys by himself looking for Linzi and myself, but he got caught up in a few tricky situations. A drug dealer attempted to force him to try some sort of illegal narcotic, and then another teen called Dagger saved him from being taken advantage of right before I found him." Mr. Ishida's eyes widened and he quickly glanced into Matt's room. "No wonder that he is so shaken up… What can we do to make him feel better?" Mr. Ishida began to wrack his brain. "There's not a whole lot that we can do in particular, but it's important for us to make sure that he's very comfortable with us, and that he feels protected when he's with us." Matt explained quietly as Chinchilmon walked into the room. "Gabumon's in there with him. He's asleep, but still shaking." Mr. Ishida frowned and stood up. "I'll go watch him for a while." He walked into Matt's room as Michael hugged Chinchilmon. "I feel bad because I wasn't fast enough." Michael sighed. "We're lucky that Dagger was there. It's okay though, because he did come in time." Chinchilmon curled up as Michael laid his head on the table, trying to get tired enough to fall asleep.

Mr. Ishida sat down next to his son's bed, staring tenderly at the boy. "He looks so tired…" He murmured quietly as Gabumon nodded. "It's been a hard couple of months for him, you know." Gabumon told Mr. Ishida. "I must've missed quite a bit of the story." He smiled. "You did, I think. For about three months probably, Matt only had Joe with him, and Joe wasn't exactly the best friend when one's feeling lonely or down." Gabumon quietly spoke. "What else happened that Michael didn't talk about?" Mr. Ishida glanced back at the other teen, who was fast asleep at the table. "Matt's relationship with Tai was less than ideal, so they fought a lot. But at one point in time, the two never stopped getting into arguments. They almost died because Tai didn't see where Matt's heart told him to go, which was to TK." Gabumon explained quickly. "Matt beats himself up about it a lot because he wants to be friends with Tai, but neither one of them knows how to deal with their emotions productively yet." Mr. Ishida realized quickly. "He loves you a lot, and it was really hard for him to be away for that long from you, so I wouldn't be shocked if he was overly affectionate for the next few days too." Gabumon sat down on the floor next to Matt's bed, clearly exhausted. "Alright, you both get some rest. I'll check on you in the morning." Mr. Ishida stood up slowly and walked out of the room, making sure to grab an extra blanket for the sleeping Michael and Chinchilmon. Laying the blanket on them gently, Mr. Ishida walked into his room and quickly began to ready himself to go to sleep.

"I've almost caught up to her." The small, pale, cloaked in purple digimon huffed as he flew closer to Gatomon. "Gatomon!" He yelled as the cat-like digimon jumped onto the next building, stopping there. "Who's there?" She looked around, tensed up before she saw the other digimon. "Wizardmon? What are you doing here. You're supposed to be looking for the final digidestined with the fake Crest." Gatomon snapped quickly. "Yes, I am aware, Gatomon. But, I needed to talk to you desperately." Wizardmon landed softly, using his staff as a stabilizer. "Well, make it quick. I'm on my way to a prospective location for the final child." Gatomon licked her paw. "This will be a bit, but I need you to trust me, Gatomon." Wizardmon insisted as Gatomon looked at him strangely. "What's going on Wizardmon? You're not normally like this." She stared at him intensely.

"Gatomon, how much of your childhood do you remember?" Wizardmon asked, expecting to get a negative reaction out of Gatomon. "How many times have I told you this now? I don't remember anything before Myotismon found me and raised me to what I am today." Gatomon sighed, exasperated at her friend. "You were always the only one allowed to see me when I was young, which is why we're such close friends." She pointed at Wizardmon. "Gatomon… I need you to try and think before that. Think about the circumstances of your birth. Please, you must think back and fight through it." Wizardmon begged. "Why do you want me to do this so badly?" Gatomon narrowed her eyes at her friend. "Gatomon… I have reason to believe that you are the digimon partner to the 8th digidestined." Wizardmon braced himself for the inevitable scorn. "You better explain yourself right now, or you will be destroyed." Gatomon hissed as she reached for the fake Crest that she had. "Wait! I can explain! You don't need to summon Myotismon here. It would be catastrophic!" Wizardmon's words stayed her paw as Gatomon stared at him. "I can't convince you just by words alone though. You have to think back and break through the barrier that keeps you from seeing your earliest memories."

'There she is.' Ravenmon saw Gatomon and Wizardmon standing on a rooftop. 'I've got to hurry!' He sped up and overheard some of their conversation. "It's all very faint to me… But I know that I was born in a laboratory building…" Gatomon stopped and stared at Wizardmon. "Are you sure? This all seems fishy to me…" Ravenmon gasped and flew up. "GATOMON!" He cried out as he flew to her. "MREOW! Who are you?!" Gatomon struck a fighting pose, while Wizardmon gasped in realization. "You… You're Ravenmon, Windomon's digivolved form, correct?" Ravenmon nodded. "Gatomon, I was one of the last digimon that you helped escape Myotismon's clutches all those years ago." Ravenmon sniffled. "I've been watching and following you guys with my partner for so long, and I never thought I'd get to talk to you again, but now that I'm here, it's clear that Myotismon's done something to you…" A small tear fell out of the corner of his eye. "Wait! Don't cry… I… I'm remembering some things now…" She stared at the sky, seeing the moon begin its descent.

"Ravenmon… You were Windomon back then… No, I remember it. Myotismon had picked you up from somewhere and he entrusted you to me for a few days while he dealt with some other things." Gatomon fell back into her memories, remembering more as she thought about it. "Yes, that's exactly what happened. I met you, Wizardmon, several times, and we were all good friends for about a week." Ravenmon added onto her story. "You were just an in-training at the time, and I was so worried about you… So I decided to sneak you out in one of the only open ways of the castle…" Gatomon gasped suddenly. "That's right! It's all coming back to me now…" Her eyes widened and she sat down quickly. "What's up?" Ravenmon helped her stand back up. "Myotismon… Is using me." Gatomon hissed, her shock quickly turning to anger.

"What do you mean by that?" Ravenmon asked, confused. "She's right. Myotismon is simply using her. He doesn't truly care for her, nor does he know that you are the digidestined partner to the 8th digidestined." Wizardmon told him. "Um… There's actually way more than eight digidestined, but yeah, we'll go with that." Ravenmon laughed quietly. "More than eight? How many are there that you know of?" Wizardmon gasped. "Well, there's the eight Japanese digidestined, and then there's six more from another place that they called the Untied Statuses of America?" Ravenmon fumbled. "Oh, I think you mean the United States of America." Gatomon laughed. "Yeah, that's what I said." Ravenmon blushed and squawked. "Anyways, we're getting distracted. Gatomon, what do you remember?" Wizardmon brought their attention back to Gatomon's memories.

"Right. So, I was a little Salamon, my rookie form, and living on Server because I was hatched far away from all of the other digidestined's digimon for some reason. All I remember is that the real Crest of Light here was laying next to me when I hatched, as was my partner's digivice. I didn't really know what to do, so I just wandered around the continent, trying to survive. I wasn't doing too well, because… Well, you know, I was only a baby digimon, in-training, and later, a rookie digimon." Gatomon awkwardly laughed. "So this was when Myotismon found you?" Ravenmon asked. "Yep. He found me and basically saw a lot of potential in me… He didn't treat me well, but I survived, and as a result, I digivolved into Gatomon. The tough training and treatment I received when I was under him are why I can stay as a Champion-level digimon." She explained quickly. "That explains quite a bit…" Wizardmon nodded slowly.

"Unfortunately, now I've got to keep up an act while we try to find the final digidestined child." Gatomon sighed, fingering her tail. "Ah, see, that's not the case right now. While you were looking in Odaiba and Setagaya today and yesterday, Gatomon, I was utilizing the Crest of Light to locate the final child, and I was fortunate enough to find her." Wizardmon pointed farther within the city. "But… I thought I had covered that city all over with other digimon… I even looked for the child myself there…" Gatomon huffed. "A phrase. Digidestined defeat digimon." Ravenmon smiled innocently. "SkullMeramon, Raremon, Shadramon, we sent Vajramon to the Digital World, Mammothmon, Gesomon…" Ravenmon trailed off, thinking of other digimon they had defeated. "Good thing that I won't have to explain that to Myotismon…" Gatomon sighed.

"Anyways, the final digidestined actually has a sibling in the digidestined group already. Her name is Kari Kamiya, and her brother is the leader of the Japanese digidestined, Tai Kamiya." Gatomon gasped and Ravenmon squawked. "No wonder I felt that connection to her…" Gatomon remembered her encounter with Kari. "She scratched my belly when I was in their house looking for the digivice…" She blushed and Ravenmon laughed. "Well, that's settled then. You guys go ahead and go get to Tai, Kari, and my partner's friend, Tiffany, who is staying with them." Ravenmon nodded. "Where will you go?" Gatomon asked. "I've got to get back to my partner before he notices that I'm missing." The bird smirked. "Be careful. We've got a lot to catch up on and we will catch up on all of it." Gatomon pointed to Ravenmon. "Yes Ma'am! I'll be safe." Ravenmon flew up and away from Wizardmon and Gatomon. "Well, let's get going then, I guess." Wizardmon quietly spoke, picking up Gatomon. "Let's fly. Do you remember the way to their house?" Gatomon asked. "Of course. I have perfect memory for a reason." Wizardmon scoffed. "I knoooow, I knoooow. I just had to check." Gatomon, now vastly more playful, pawed at Wizardmon's hat. "Be careful with that!" He scolded her and laughed.

Taylor stared out the window, listening to the peaceful sounds of the night while Mimi and Palmon slept. "I wonder… Why was I brought to these guys? What is my purpose here?" She whispered to herself as Mimi's digivice went off. 'Of course. Better check it before Mimi wakes up.' Taylor sighed and picked it up. 'What? What's that supposed to mean?' She read the message quickly and looked out the window again. 'Tiffany needs help, backup greatly appreciated? No digimon needed, meet at the bridge between Setagaya and Odaiba…' Taylor stared at the bridge, wondering what was taking place. She squinted and leaned forward, staring intensely at the bridge. 'I see her… There's Azuremon… But what are they doing?' She put a hand to her mouth as she saw one of the blurry figures run towards the edge of the bridge as the other figure grabbed hold of the running and stop the figure from jumping off the bridge. 'Oh, this is bad.' Taylor thought to herself as she grabbed her jacket. 'Let me just write Mimi a quick note…' She pulled out a pen and a notebook. 'Mimi. I'm going for a walk. If I'm not back for a bit, don't worry. I'll be back as soon as possible.' She put the pen down and, grabbing her shoes, quickly pulled them on. 'Time to see what I can do now.' Taylor stood up and ran out the door, planning out the fastest route to the walking section of the bridge. "Hang on, Tiffany and Azuremon… I'm on my way." She spoke out loud as she left the apartment building. "I'll make a difference now, I swear." She nodded determinedly and broke out into a run towards the bridge.

Wizardmon and Ravenmon helped Gatomon finally see her true colors, but what does this mean for Kari, her partner? And what in the world does Tiffany need help with? Will Taylor be able to help her? Myotismon's strength stands above them all, and soon, he will be unstoppable!


	37. The Longest Night! Part 2

Disclaimer! I own only my OCs and potentially a few of the OC digimon. Everything else is owned by Saban Brands.

Hope you all enjoy and don't forget to review!

A/N: This chapter also contains triggers regarding suicide and depression. That being said, this chapter is also integral to the plot. I apologize in advance.

Try Chapter 37

Tiffany sat up from her mattress on the floor of the Kamiya apartment, thinking intently of the day before. She had taken a good portion of the day after she and Tai had returned to the apartment after defeating SkullMeramon. 'That was a long discussion…' She sighed and thought back to Mr. and Mrs. Kamiya's reactions to Tai being hurt multiple times. 'I'm thankful that they didn't push farther into the pyramid incident.' She reached for her digivice and stared at the dimly lit screen. 'Why was I give one of these?' She wondered, somewhat randomly. 'Was it just to help Tai get this far?' Tiffany grabbed the light jacket that Mrs. Kamiya had given her. 'Maybe… Or at least to help Tai get support from his parents?' She shrugged. 'Whatever, it's fine. Go to sleep Tiffany. Nighttime is not the time to be thinking.' She laughed to herself and lay back down onto the thin mattress, shutting her eyes.

Two hours later, Tiffany sat up again, rubbing her eyes tiredly. 'I'm trying, I really am.' She picked up her digivice again, seeing the time. 'How is it really 2 am? It doesn't feel that late at all…' She stood up quietly, trying not to wake Kari, Agumon, Tai, and Azuremon. 'Maybe I'll go for a walk…' She walked out of the room and went onto their balcony, staring at the fire exit over to the right. 'That seems like a decent idea. Maybe I'll get tired enough after a short walk.' She began the long climb down to the street, unknowingly waking Azuremon.

Tiffany's partner quickly noticed her absence and immediately woke up entirely. 'Tiffany… Now is not the time to be missing.' He thought to himself, worry percolating the thoughts in his brain. 'Fire exit. She probably took the fire exit.' He quietly began to move, taking extreme care to not wake the exhausted Tai and Agumon. 'Stay behind her, so that she doesn't know that I'm following. Something tells me that this could be bad if I show myself.' Azuremon reached the balcony as Tiffany made it onto the street. 'Wait a little bit…' Azuremon told himself as he pressed himself up against the shadows of the apartment, watching Tiffany look up to see if she had been followed. 'She's up to something… Time to move.' Azuremon quickly made his way down to the street as Tiffany turned the corner, running. 'Now is not the time for slacking. She's got her mind on something.'

'What am I even doing?' Tiffany wondered as she reached the waterfront. 'It's a beautiful night out…' She looked up at the moon slowly heading towards the horizon, looking at her digivice as well, which shined faintly in the moonlight. 'Tai's alright now… I'm sure.' She sat down, looking around her to see if anyone was there. 'The only truly productive thing I did was save Tai from himself…' She grabbed a clump of grass and pulled it out of the ground. Her hand trembled as the tears started coming. 'Why are you being like this, you idiot?! You've got every right to be happy right now, and sleeping. What's wrong with you?!' She yelled at herself as she tried to stop the stream of tears. "No… NOT NOW!" She screamed and started running again towards the bridge to Setagaya. 'Why am I doing this?' She blindly ran towards the bridge, not seeing Azuremon lying low in the bushes near her.

'There she goes again. Time to stop her now before she does something reckless.' Azuremon sped up to match the girl's speed. "TIFFANY!" He yelled, watching as the girl glanced behind her. His eyes widened, seeing the girl's tear streaked cheeks. 'What's wrong?' Azuremon jumped up and began gaining ground on her. "LEAVE ME ALONE!" Tiffany shrieked as the two made it to the pedestrian walk on the bridge. "No. You know that I promised that I would never leave you alone." Azuremon jumped in front of her, easily passing the girl, who quickly came to a stop, avoiding eye contact with Azuremon. "Tiffany. Look at me. What's wrong?" Azuremon came closer to her. "I… I don't know… But…" Tiffany sniffed. "But what?" Azuremon stared at her. "Something's terribly, terribly wrong, and I can't do anything about it." She punched herself in the arm. "Don't do that." Azuremon told her softly, and Tiffany glared at the digimon. "There's no other way to let out my confusion…" She sighed and put her face in her hands. "There's always other ways." Azuremon hugged his partner.

"Why… Why did fate have to choose me?" Tiffany looked up at her partner. "I was just a normal twenty year-old girl, trying to get a college degree, when I was dragged into all this mess. I didn't ask for this. I DIDN'T ASK TO BE DRAWN INTO SOMETHING WHERE I COULD BE KILLED!" She screamed again and tore away from Azuremon, sobbing heavily again. "Tiffany…" Azuremon had no words for his friend's suffering. "I can't even keep anybody safe. I'm the oldest, but I can't do my job as the oldest. It's been Tai, or Michael, or Matt, or Ally, or Jacob, or TK. It's never been me. No matter how hard I try, I can never power through and finish what the others can…" Her voice broke, and Azuremon felt his heart drop. "Tiffany… I-" Azuremon began, but was cut off. "Don't bother. I didn't ask for pity. I know that no matter how hard I work and strive for something, it will never work in my favor… I don't know why I even try anymore…" Tiffany, bitterness in her voice, broke from her usual attitude. Her digivice slipped out of her pocket and landed on the ground near Azuremon, who picked it up and quickly began to type a message.

In the Digital World, a purple beam of light shooting up from a lake slowly dimmed, turning a gray color.

"No." Tiffany stated simply as she backed away from Azuremon. "I can't do this anymore. These feelings are too much for me. Make it stop… Please, make it stop…" She repeated, turning around quickly to see if anyone was behind her. "NO!" She yelled as she ran towards the side of the bridge preparing herself to jump. "TIFFANY!" Azuremon roared in terror and ran as fast as he could towards her. "HIYAH!" Azuremon caught her and pulled the girl back onto the bridge right as she had made it up to the edge. "LET ME GO!" Tiffany began fighting the strong digimon, who didn't let go. "I will never let go." Azuremon pledged, holding Tiffany till she stopped fighting his strong grip. 'Come on… Somebody… Please come.' Azuremon looked at either side of the bridge, struggling to see past the early morning fog. "HEY GUYS!" The two heard a familiar voice. "Are you two alright?" Taylor came into view, her windswept hair falling into her eyes as the girl caught her breath. "Less than so." Azuremon told her, right as Tiffany was about to deny it. Taylor's eyes widened quickly as her brain worked fast to determine what had happened. "Tiff… Why?" Taylor squatted down next to Tiffany, who sat down as well. "I don't even know…" Tiffany sighed, and Taylor nodded. "That's okay. It's okay not to know what's wrong. Let's try to get to the bottom of that though, okay?" Taylor, although she was three years younger than Tiffany, already seemed to be calming the girl down.

"I don't know…" Tiffany sniffed as Azuremon made his way to the other side of the girl, handing her the digivice. "Let's get to a better place for this conversation. A bridge is a bit loud." Taylor stood up and helped Tiffany up, pointing to the Odaiba side of the bridge. "Let's head behind the bushes." Azuremon picked Tiffany up as Taylor ran ahead, knowing that Azuremon would catch up to her quickly. "Over here!" Taylor called from behind a bush that blocked the trio's view of the bridge. "Hm…" Azuremon maneuvered around a small bush in front to gently drop Tiffany next to Taylor. He wrapped his friend in a hug, not letting go when she sniffed again. "What's in your heart? In your soul? There's something deep down that's tearing you apart." Taylor looked into Tiffany's eyes. "I feel it in your aura…" Azuremon put his right paw up to her forehead. "Will you let me see what troubles you?" The digimon asked. "How can you? You've always been able to know what I'm feeling, but never see my thoughts…" Tiffany protested quietly.

"Use your digivice to analyze my data." Azuremon told her, and Tiffany's shaky hand lifted the digivice up to Azuremon, and pressed the top left button on the device. "Azuremon is a rookie digimon, known as the aural digimon. It has the ability to read another entity's thoughts, but only if allowed and trusted." The digivice quickly read off, and quieted down as Tiffany's eyes widened. "Really?" She put her hand to her mouth. "There's a reason that my species is very rare in the digital world." Azuremon nodded, and looked into her eyes. "Do you trust me?" "I…" Tiffany sniffed and stared down at the ground. Taylor looked at Azuremon and shook her head. "It's okay. Please don't cry." Azuremon hugged Tiffany again. "I'm sorry…" Tiffany wiped her eyes off and shook her head. "I just… I haven't even looked inside of myself. I can't let anyone else see what's inside…" She briefly thought back to the creation of Apocalymon. 'It keeps haunting my mind…' She thought to herself and shook her head again. "Tiffany. Have you lost your hope?" Taylor started asking pointed questions.

"Maybe… Probably a little bit…" Tiffany closed her eyes. "What drives you? What drives you to keep going with this life?" Azuremon pressed, hitting home as Tiffany's eyes shot open. "I DON'T KNOW!" She screamed and jumped up, ready to run again. "No. Tiffany. You do know. It's in you, the fire to fight." Taylor dragged her back down to the ground as the girl turned to hysterics. "I've never seen her this upset…" Azuremon whispered softly. "All… *hic* I ever *hic* wanted to do *hic* was LIVE MY OWN *hic* LIFE!" Tiffany hiccupped irregularly. "You fight for your life?" Taylor asked, and Tiffany nodded. "What's stopping you from doing that right now?" Taylor pushed, and Tiffany frowned slowly. "It feels like it's pointless. There's no use to everything that I'm doing because there are so many more people doing it way better. There are better scientists, better chemists, better Digidestined, better everything…" She trailed off, the hiccups continuing. "Her crest…" Azuremon realized as Tiffany's crest glowed and dimmed slowly. "What is her Crest?" Taylor asked, coming to the same conclusion. "The Crest of Determination…" Azuremon gasped. "Tiffany, are you here?" Taylor asked, watching as the girl slowly relaxed. "Tiffany?!" Azuremon shook her gently, watching as the girl snapped awake again. "Let me sleep…" She yawned and curled up in a ball.

"No, Tiffany. You've got to fight this feeling. It may seem like it's all pointless, but there's a reason why we're all here. Spiritual or not, something put us on this Earth and in the Digital World for a reason. We matter, and we're here to save the world today, I promise. Fight, Tiffany, FIGHT!" Taylor began talking faster than she ever had before. "Tiffany, remember. You saved Tai, YOU did. Not me, not Mimi, but YOU. You gave him his courage back so he could destroy Etemon. Let us give you your determination back." Azuremon whispered intently. "You're my friend. The best friend that I've ever had. You've got to fight for your dreams with everything that you've got, because I know you have it in you." Azuremon wiped the corner of his eye with a paw, causing Taylor to raise her eyebrows, getting a glare from Azuremon. "You believe in me?" Tiffany asked Azuremon, who nodded. "That's all I ever need." She sat up quickly and hugged her partner, who, surprised by the hug, blushed a bright red color. "Ooooooh, that is so a picture that I need to take." Taylor giggled under her breath evilly. Azuremon sighed and agreed to the photo. "Tiffany, are you here?" Taylor put her phone aside and asked the girl. "I'm… I'm getting here." Tiffany braced herself in a seated position. "It's going to take me a bit to rebuild my confidence but… I'll get there." She smiled softly.

"What's that noise?" Taylor wondered as flashes of light flew over the bush that hid the trio. "That doesn't seem like a good thing…" Tiffany ducked as one of the flashes of light flew over the bush, barely missing the girl. "You're getting a message." Azuremon pointed to Tiffany's digivice as well, determined to take their mind off of the bright red blush on his face. "I'm on my way to save Gatomon and a digimon called Wizardmon… Long story, will explain later…" Tiffany's face drained itself of any color. "Who is that from?" Taylor asked. "It's from Tai." Azuremon read over her shoulder. "Um… Something tells me that the flashes of light is Greymon…" Taylor stood up and looked around the bush and quickly ducked back around. "It's bad." Her eyes, wide open, told everything. Tiffany and Azuremon peeked around the bush as well, Tiffany gasping at the sight.

The two saw Myotismon laughing maniacally, staring down at two small digimon. "Is that Wizardmon and Gatomon there?" Tiffany asked, her voice quiet. "It looks like it to me." Azuremon nodded. "Who even is Wizardmon? I've never heard of a digimon like that before." Taylor seemed confused. "Wizardmon is a digimon that isn't originally from the digital world. It seems however, that this particular Wizardmon works for Myotismon. I'm not sure why Myotismon is attacking Wizardmon… Or Gatomon for that matter." Azuremon saw the battle unfolding in front of them. "I'm not sure why either… But… It can't be good, whatever it is." Tiffany watched the battle. "Wait! We have to stop Tai!" Taylor realized with a start as the young boy ran towards the three digimon, Agumon and Kari following him. "AGUMON! YOU'VE GOT TO SAVE THEM!" They could hear his yell as Agumon digivolved. "AGUMON DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO GREYMON!" "NOVA BLAST!" The champion's attack was batted away by one of Myotismon's Crimson Lightning whips. "Gah!" Tai yelled in frustration. "TIME TO DIGIVOLVE AGAIN!" He told his partner. "Another digivolution will do you no good!" Myotismon laughed cockily.

"GREYMON DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Greymon's skull became cloaked in a digizoid chrome metal, and claws on both of Greymon's hands were created from the same material. He gained a cannonlike weapon on his chest that opened up and shot too warning shots at the ground near him, creating a large explosion. A pair of wings also grew out from Greymon's back, made of the same digizoid chrome metal as his skull. "HIYAH! METALGREYMON, THE WARRIOR OF COURAGE!" MetalGreymon charged at Myotismon. "MEGA CLAW!" The attack missed Myotismon by a long shot. "Hmph. I grow tired of these games." Myotismon laughed evilly. "Grizzly Wing!" The powerful attack was gunning straight for the Ultimate digimon, Tai, and Kari. "GIGA BLASTER!" MetalGreymon destroyed the bats and promptly dedigivolved, leaving Tai and Kari undefended from Myotismon's wrath.

"Now, to rid myself of this pest." Myotismon stared at Wizardmon, who was weakly standing up, glaring at Myotismon. "CRIMSON LIGHTNING! HIYAH!" He snatched Wizardmon up and threw him into the river separating Odaiba and Setagaya. "WIZARDMON!" Gatomon shrieked as her friend landed in the water, far away. "Now… Gatomon… I think I'll keep you close to me…" Myotismon devilishly grinned and used his Crimson Lightning whip to pick her up. "And for you two… One of you will be coming with me." Myotismon flicked his wrist and the lightning whip reached for Kari. Tai threw himself in front of his little sister, who simply screamed as she saw the whip grow closer.

"NOT WHILE I'M HERE!" Tiffany yelled, her strength returning to her as she ran out from behind the bush, Azuremon hot on her heels. "What? There were only supposed to be eight digidestined!" Myotismon, caught off guard, pulled the whip back to himself. "The girl!" Myotismon realized with a start, thinking back to when Ally had distracted the evil digimon to let the Japanese Digidestined escape. "There's more of you?!" He glared at Tiffany. "You betcha! Azuremon, let's show this digidork who's boss!" Tiffany stepped to the side as Azuremon raced towards Myotismon, determination evident in his eyes. "AZUREMON DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO TAIONGMON!" The champion digimon jumped up and summoned his staff. "BLADE OF DETERMINATION!" The attack struck Myotismon's arm, causing the vampire digimon to jump back and hiss angrily. "Champions stand not a chance! GRIZZLY WING!" The cloud of bats surrounded Taiongmon and began biting the digimon wherever the bats could get to. "AGH!" Taiongmon gasped in pain as he swung his staff around to get the bats to drop him.

"TAIONGMON!" Tiffany yelled as she saw her partner drop to the ground, the last of the bats gone. She ran up to her partner and helped him sit up. "Not so powerful now, are you?" Myotismon, with Gatomon still well in his grasp, floated to the ground, where he loomed eerily over Tiffany and Taiongmon. "My power comes not just from strength, but from the belief of my partner as well. I'm not out of this yet." Taiongmon stood shakily as Tiffany realized that she had to help her partner somehow. "That's right. Your power comes from the fear that others have of you, from the hate that others have of you. That's why you'll never understand the relationship between the digidestined such as myself and our partners." Tiffany stood up and hugged her partner tightly. "Your words are impressive, but they mean nothing to me." Myotismon stretched out a hand at the two. "Myotismon, she's right. The bond that we have with our partners and our desire to fight till the last breath is what keeps us going. You can never take that away from us." Tai, with Agumon by his side and Kari behind him, stood up and nodded in agreement with Tiffany.

"Why do you fight so? These digimon seem to be the strongest that you have, but they still lay no more than a scratch upon me. It would be far less painful if you just gave up now." Myotismon began preparing the attack that he would use to defeat the group as Taylor watched in horror from behind the bush. "Give up? Are you kidding me? There have only been two times in my entire life where I've given up, and both times, I got back up. No matter how hard we fall, no matter how difficult the task is, no matter how impressive their strength is, we will never give up until we accomplish our goal." Tiffany stared down at her Crest, which was shining from beneath her shirt. "NO! ANOTHER CREST?!" Myotismon roared as he saw the Crest of Determination glowing. "Taiongmon, are you ready?" Tiffany asked her partner, fire in her eyes. "I've never been more ready." Taiongmon jumped up as Tiffany's digivice began to shine brightly.

"TAIONGMOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON!" His black and white helmet flew off of his head and flattened itself out into the shape of a shield, floating in front of the digimon. His eyes stayed their bright red color, but the white tunic changed color to a golden-yellow tunic with a shining white wreath. "DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" The light brown coat grew rougher and stronger, creating a protective covering of fur. His ears tipped off at a point as well. His wooden staff changed into a special sword with a golden blade and a silver sword handle. "ARENTINIAMON!" The shield flew towards the digimon and attached itself to his left arm. He gripped the sword firmly in his right hand and stared out. "PREPARE TO BE DEFEATED!" Arentiniamon roared and pointed his sword at Myotismon.

"Great… Another Ultimate digimon to beat." Myotismon lazily waved his hand, sending one of his Crimson Lightning Whips at Arentiniamon. "HIYAH!" He countered the whip, forcing it to disappear when it hit his shield. "MYOTISMON! LEAVE THIS PLACE!" He yelled as the sword began to glow. "DETERMINATION'S PROWESS!" Arentiniamon sliced down in an x-shape, creating a beam of energy that struck Myotismon dead on, sending the vampire digimon back and forcing him to land on his back. "GAH!" Myotismon's eyes widened in terror as he stared at the powerful digimon. "It seems I may have to cut my losses here." He regained his composure and flew up into the sky, vowing revenge on the digidestined. "Arentiniamon! That was awesome!" Tiffany cheered as the Ultimate nodded and dedigivolved back into Coomon. "You alright?" She caught the small digimon, who nodded and yawned. "He's just tired. He'll be back in tip-top shape pretty soon." Tai told her.

"Well, we couldn't get Gatomon, and Wizardmon is somewhere out there, but we stopped Myotismon from taking Kari." Taylor walked up to the small group, hugging Kari. "I don't like that digimon." The young girl declared, shaking. "I don't either Kari. In fact, I think I know a way that we can stop him from getting really strong, okay?" Tiffany smiled at the young girl, who looked up at her, hopeful. "Send message to ALL. Cover has been blown. Myotismon knows about our existence now. Attack any and all enemy digimon and destroy as many before Myotismon gets a hold of where we all are. Send." Tiffany stood up and smiled as she saw the sun rising. "Oh shoot! I need to get back to Mimi!" Taylor exclaimed. "Will you be able to make it to her place on your own?" Agumon asked. "You betcha. It's only right over there." She pointed to the group of buildings behind them.

Michael woke quickly to the sound of his digivice beeping. "That's news." He whispered to Chinchilmon, who was slowly waking up. "We've got clearance to attack any enemy digimon at first sight." He told Matt, who had sleepily walked into the kitchen holding his digivice. "We all got the same message." Chinchilmon nodded and jumped onto the floor, trying to look out the window. "I wonder what this means for the rest of us. I can't see anything from here…" Gabumon joined him and the four staring out over the balcony.

Luke and Joe, peering at the fine text in a text book, were abruptly shaken out of their educational stupor by the beeping of their digivices. "Woah! What's going on now?" Joe grabbed his first, quickly reading through the message. "That's great news! Basically, you don't have to hide anymore, Ravenmon." Luke smiled and picked up his tired partner. "Where were you last night?" He asked Ravenmon, who just shook his head and smiled blissfully. "Gomamon, I think it's go time right now, actually! Look!" Joe pointed out of his window at the digimon flying over Setagaya. "Let's go!" Luke grabbed a jacket, his digivice, and a banana and ran out of the apartment, Joe, Gomamon, and Ravenmon hot on his heels.

"GO GET HIM RAVENMON!" Luke yelled, watching the two rookie digimon run towards the flying digimon. "RAVENMON DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO TOUCAMON!" "GOMAMON DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO IKKAKUMON!" "What digimon is that, anyways?" Joe asked, pulling out his digivice. "That's Airdramon! He's a champion level digimon who is famous for his Spinning Needle attack that blows his opponents away!" Ikkakumon told the other three. "Well, sounds like he's no match for me!" Toucamon launched himself into the air as Ikkakumon began to take aim. "FIERY WING!" "HARPOON TORPEDO!" The two attacks collided with the Airdramon, stunning it and sending it hurtling towards the ground. "Let's get it!" The group began running towards where the digimon had crash-landed.

Myotismon crushed a bone in his hand as he witnessed the destruction of his forces by the various digidestined forces. "GAH!" He saw TK, Linzi, Torpedomon, and Angemon destroy a Coelamon. "There's another one!" He roared as Jacob, Izzy, Ranetsumon, and Kabuterimon combined forces to defeat a Dinohyumon. "NO!" He exclaimed angrily as Mimi and Togemon eeked out a victory against a Ginryumon. "THAT'S IT! THEY WILL NOT DEFEAT ME ANYMORE!" He turned towards DemiDevimon, who shrank against the wall in fear of his master's wrath. "RELEASE PHANTOMON AND THE BAKEMON!" He watched angrily as Sora, Ally, Tunipymon, and Birdramon quickly defeat a swarm of Witchmon flying over the city. DemiDevimon quickly ran off and began speaking quickly as possible to a silhouette in the wall as Myotismon turned to Gatomon. "Hehehe… My time has come, Gatomon… None of your puny little friends will be able to do anything about it!" He began cackling evilly as Gatomon cowered in fear under the evil digimon's gaze.

Taylor and Azuremon snapped Tiffany out of her funk, and helped her save Kari from the clutches of Myotismon as well! However, what does Myotismon mean by releasing Phantomon and the Bakemon? With even more challenges coming for our heroes, how will they rise to the occasion now?


	38. The Bakemon Strike Back!

Disclaimer! I own only my OCs and potentially a few of the OC digimon. Everything else is owned by Saban Brands.

Hope you all enjoy and don't forget to review!

Try Chapter 38

TK woke to the sight of a fog bank rolling across the bay that led to Odaiba. "Woah…" He gasped and went to the window to watch the fog. "TK, what is it?" Patamon woke, his sleepy voice barely making any noise. "Look at all the fog!" TK excitedly pointed out the window, giggling madly. "What's going on in here, you two?" His mom poked her head in. "We're just looking at the fog momma!" TK told her. "That's weird… There wasn't supposed to be much fog this morning…" She ducked out of the room and checked the T.V. again for the weather report. "Yeah… It's not supposed to be this heavy." Linzi nodded and stared out the window herself as she prepared a bowl of cereal. "Torpedomon, do you have any thoughts on it?" She asked her partner. "It doesn't seem natural. It makes me nervous, actually, almost like there's something hiding beyond it." Torpedomon whispered quietly, shuddering.

"Well, maybe we should head over there after breakfast…" Linzi suggested slowly. TK, coming out of his room, heard the girl and nodded. "My brother is over there, and he'll need help if Myotismon decides to come after him." The little boy nodded affirmatively. "I still think it's so cute." Patamon whispered to TK's mom, referring to the boy and his brother's relationship. "Let me message Joe and Luke, so we can all head over together. I think we'd feel safer that way." Linzi pulled her digivice out. "Wouldn't that be too much for your partner?" Ms. Ishida hugged Torpedomon and gave her a bowl of food. "Nah. Joe has a swimming digimon, and Luke has a flying digimon that can both be rather big. We'll be alright in crossing the bay if we can't get on the ferry." Linzi reassured her. "Message: Joe and Luke. Meet TK and I at the dock to make our way over to Odaiba. Send." The message sent quickly. "Let's finish breakfast first." Ms. Ishida had TK sit down at the table and handed a bowl to him and Patamon.

Mimi woke with a start, the silence of her room broken by the loud screams she heard outside her window. "What's all this ruckus?!" She opened the window and screamed when she saw the Bakemon outside her window. "GET OUT OF HERE!" She punched the particular digimon where its nose would be and slammed the window shut as it reached for her. "PALMON! TAYLOR! MOM! DAD! WAKE UP!" She shrieked loudly as she saw the Bakemon go for the window again. "POISON IVY!" Palmon, awake in a flash, opened the window and smacked the Bakemon away from it. "Mimi, we've got to get out of here and to the others." Taylor opened the door to the main room only to slam it shut when she was faced with more Bakemon. "We're in a bit of trouble!" She exclaimed as she held the door back from the ghostly digimon. "We'll come get you and your friends!" The Bakemon burst throw the window despite Palmon's best efforts and grabbed her. "OH NO!" Mimi yelled as she grabbed onto Palmon, forcing another Bakemon to grab her as well. A third Bakemon flew into the room as Taylor's eyes widened. "Oh no… Here we go…" Swiftly pocketing a small hair pin that Mimi had on her table, she surrendered willingly to the Bakemon, who followed the Bakemon that had grabbed Palmon and Mimi.

"Where are you taking us?" Mimi demanded to know, turning to look the Bakemon in the face. "Hohoho! Wouldn't you like to know?" The Bakemon dodged around the question, forcing Mimi to look ahead at the large convention center in front of them. "Well, that answers that question." She frowned and tried to look around for other people. "The others all went willingly, once we had broken into their houses." The Bakemon carrying Palmon smiled eerily. "Yeah, cause your breath stinks." Palmon gagged slightly as the smell made its way to her nose. "That's not very nice…" The Bakemon carrying Taylor sniffled as the girl held on for dear life. "It's not very nice capturing us and forcing us to go somewhere we don't want to go either, is it? But you do it anyways." The girl snipped and got a giggle out of Mimi. "Well, let's just give you a rough landing then!" Her Bakemon swooped down and dropped her roughly on the ground, where she stood, inside of the convention center. "Mimi! Palmon! Down here!" Taylor waved and watched as the two were dropped next to her. "Are you guys okay?" The girl asked the other two. "Yeah… A little shaken, but I'm okay." Mimi stood up and shook the dust off of her blue and pink pajamas. "Well… Looks like we're stuck here for a little while then…" Palmon stared around at all the Bakemon. "Maybe we should get out of sight…" Taylor suggested. "That's a good idea. This is creeping me out." Mimi shuddered and nodded eagerly.

"MOM! WHERE ARE YOU?!" Sora stood on her tiptoes as she, also in her pajamas, looked around for her mom. "I don't see her either, Sora." Biyomon flew down to the girl. "We'll keep looking. She's got to be around here somewhere. We saw her take her here, so there's no worries there." Ally, seemingly appearing from thin air, hugged Sora. "She wasn't in any of the places that we looked, so maybe she's on the second floor." Little Roomon suggested. "You're probably right. Let's get to those escalators." Sora pointed to the far side of the convention center. "We don't know what's going on here, but I don't like it one bit." Ally stared around and watched for any sudden movements. "Sora, wait!" Biyomon exclaimed. "Look, over there! It's Mimi, Palmon, and Taylor!" The flying digimon took off towards the other three, forcing Sora, Ally, and Roomon to chase after her. "Mimi! Look!" Palmon noticed the other girls before Mimi and Taylor did, waving happily. "Boy, are we glad to see you guys!" Mimi hugged Sora, who returned the hug. "Did the Bakemon get you too?" Taylor asked Sora, who nodded. "They broke into my mom's flower shop and took her first, and then they broke through Biyomon's defenses and took the rest of us." She sighed.

"It's a good thing that you guys aren't hurt." Taylor fixed Ally's hair quickly as Roomon jumped from Ally's pocket to her shoulder. "Roomon, did you get hurt?" Palmon asked as the in-training digimon shook her head fiercely. "Ally wouldn't let me take on the silly Bakemon! They're no match for my Boom Bubble!" Roomon hopped up and down, blowing a small bubble, getting a giggle out of Sora and Mimi. "Let's be careful though… There's no denying that Myotismon is behind that, and there' s no telling what he'll do." Ally froze as she saw the digimon in question enter a door on the top floor of the convention. "What's that digimon with him?" Mimi asked, concerned. "Oh no… That's Gatomon, the partner digimon to the 8th Japanese digidestined…" Taylor realized with a start as she saw the champion digimon be thrown into the room. "How do you know that?" Biyomon stared at Taylor, who laughed awkwardly. "Well… It's kind of a long story that happened last night when Tiffany, Tai, their partners, and Kari and I were awake." She began to explain the story as quickly as she could.

"Matt? Are you awake?" Gabumon gently poked the sleeping boy with his horn. "Whaaaat daaaad? It's not schooool…" Michael burst into laughter as he heard the younger boy's objections. "Matt, seriously, the others need us right now." Chinchilmon jumped up onto the bed and began tickling his nose using his tail. "Hey now! The featherduster is just for feathers…" Matt narrowly avoided Chinchilmon as he sat up suddenly, waking up quickly. "Good morning, sunshine." Michael smiled as Matt narrowed his eyes and glared at the teen. "O-kay, time to retreat to the kitchen." Michael ran out of the room as Matt got out of bed and charged after him. "All this to get him out of bed?"Chinchilmon wondered. "Matt can be a bit of a heavy sleeper." Gabumon stated the obvious, laughing quietly as he heard a loud clunk and an exclamation of pain from Michael. "Shows him right for using me to wake poor Matt up." Chinchilmon giggled as Matt walked back into the room, grabbed a shirt, and pulled it on over his pajamas before realizing what he was doing. "He is so dead for this." Matt sighed and stepped into the bathroom, changing quickly.

"Good morning sunshine!" Gabumon exclaimed cheerfully, waiting in the kitchen for Matt, his hair tousled from the rude awakening. "Food, then talk." The boy yawned sleepily and sat down at the table where a small plate of food lay in front of him. "He sounds a lot like Jacob at this hour of the morning." Michael laughed. "He really does, doesn't he?" Chinchilmon nodded easily. The quartet's good mood was quickly spoiled however, by the sound of a heavy knock on the door to the apartment. "Huh?" Gabumon glanced towards the door quickly. "That doesn't make any sense… My dad should have left by now, and he never forgets anything at home…" Matt wondered quietly. "I'll get the door." Michael, already by the door, got up and looked through the small peephole. "Oh no… This isn't good, guys." He turned around and bolstered the door. "What is it?" Chinchilmon asked. "Bakemon. And something tells me that they're not friendly." He responded quickly as the door almost broke. "AGH!" Michael yelled, feeling the power behind the attack.

"We've got to make a quick plan." Matt stood up, his breakfast forgotten. "It's simple. Chinchilmon and I break through the initial crowd and then we go hide somewhere else. I don't want to know what happens if they get hold of us." Gabumon stated simply. "That's right. Are you guys ready? You'll have to get ready to run fast." Chinchilmon nodded determinedly. "As ready as we'll ever be." Michael braced himself as another blow hit the door. "Three… Two… One…" Gabumon counted down. "NOW!" Matt yelled as Michael ran forward, allowing the Bakemon to destroy the door. "BOOOO! Are you coming with us?" The lead Bakemon bustled forward, only to be blasted to the side by Chinchilmon and Gabumon. "BLUE BLASTER!" "TAIL SPIN!" The two attacks from the Rookie digimon smacked the Bakemon to the side, allowing the four of them to run through the gap and out into the hallway, where they quickly began running down the stairs to get to the outside of the apartment.

"We're almost there!" Matt yelled as the main door came into sight from the staircase. "Were you going somewhere?" More Bakemon appeared from the outside world and crowded in front of the four. "NOT TODAY!" Michael yelled and jumped off the stairs, whipping out his knife and slicing in a broad circle, forcing the Bakemon back and allowing Matt, Gabumon, and Chinchilmon to pass through to the outside world. "Come on!" Chinchilmon yelled as Michael followed him through the doors. "Let's head to the old apartment building near the hospital. Maybe we can get Jacob before the Bakemon do." Matt suggested. "Alright. Sounds like a plan to me." Gabumon nodded as the four prepared for their mad dash across the street to the hospital down the street a few blocks.

Jacob slowly stood up from his bedside. "Something's up." He peeked out the window, expecting to see the Odaiba traffic moving on as usual. "The city isn't moving at all." He turned back to Genomon as he heard noises from the hallway. "The nurse won't be happy if you're not in bed, you know." Genomon nodded slightly as Jacob sighed. "They should've let me out yesterday." He protested. "You know they wanted to do a few tests on you." Genomon hopped up onto the bed himself as the door opened. "Did someone need their medicine?!" A Bakemon entered the room, floating ominously as Jacob stared at the digimon, shocked. "GENOMON!" He yelled as his digivice began to glow. "GENOMON DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO CANINMON!" Caninmon growled at the Bakemon standing in the doorway. "HYPER BLAST!" The attack blew that Bakemon into the hallway, where Caninmon and Jacob followed it. "Time to get out of here!" Jacob yelled as he pulled the IV needle out of his arm.

"Have a saline solution!" He took the cart out into the hallway and pushed it into a Bakemon that was reaching for him. "Over here!" Caninmon blasted another Bakemon out of the way as the two began to run down the stairs as fast as possible. "Once we get out of here, make way for Izzy's house." Jacob quickly said, running out of breath. "Right." Caninmon woofed and blasted a Bakemon back out of the building as they neared the exit doors. "I think we make a right as we get out of the building." Jacob tried to remember the directions as they ran through the doors. "Oh, nope! Not that way!" He changed his mind when he saw the mass of Bakemon flying in the street. "Hey! Over here!" Caninmon's powerful ears heard the call and he directed Jacob's attention to it. "It's Izzy and Tentomon! Good timing!" He breathed a sigh of relief as he and his partner ducked into the small alleyway that the other two were hiding out in. "Hey guys. Good to see that you're up and moving again." Izzy pulled out his laptop. "Nice to see you too. What's going on around here?" Jacob asked quickly.

"Well, as you can tell, Myotismon's Bakemon are taking all the people to the convention center for some reason." Izzy began typing away rapidly. "I've messaged the Japanese digidestined, and it seems that the Bakemon have both Mimi and Sora, with Taylor and Ally there as well. Tai, Matt, Sora, TK, and Joe are still out there, trying to avoid the Bakemon, while we're right here." He explained quickly. "Alright… What do we do now?" Jacob asked. "That's a good question." Tentomon buzzed. "Right now, we'd like to rescue Mimi, Sora, Taylor, and Ally, as well as stopping the Bakemon from taking any more people from their homes." He quietly explained. "That sounds like a great plan to me." Jacob, suddenly feeling slightly weak, sat down. "You alright?" Caninmon asked him. "Yeah. Seems like I'm not fully recovered yet." Jacob laughed softly. "Take it easy. We're not going anywhere for a while." Izzy looked at the older teen with concern in his eyes.

"Sora… We're not safe here." Biyomon whispered to the girl, who simply nodded. "Look at all the Bakemon though. We can't exactly do a whole lot." Sora frowned. "Look at all the people who are getting annoyed with this." Ally looked around and saw the many disgruntled faces in the crowd. "Maybe… Just maybe…" Sora began to piece together a plan. "Mimi, Taylor, can you see if anyone has a boombox?" She struck gold with her idea. "There's one right over there… It looks like there was one over there." Taylor pointed over to the corner. "Okay, so here's the plan. We've got to gather up as many people as possible and have them yell into the microphone, 'Bakemon lose your power.'" She smiled confidently. "May I ask why?" Ally did so, very confused. "It's a Buddhist mantra that Joe came up with after Devimon separated he and I from the rest of the group on File Island. It causes the Bakemon to lose their power, which lets us get away more easily." Sora grabbed the boombox and the microphone attached to it. "Mimi, let's go! Time to explain to everyone what's happening."

Mimi nodded and ran to another group. "Palmon and I will go explain to others as well." Taylor volunteered herself. "Roomon, I think we're going to need Kangamon now." Biyomon nodded. "Alright. Let's go Roomon!" Ally cheered. "ROOMON DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOO KANGAMON!" The kangaroo digimon tried to be quiet to avoid unwanted attention, but was foiled by a nearby Bakemon. "Digivolution?! DIGIDESTINED?! OOOOOOH MYOTISMOOOOON!" It yelled and began running towards the stairs. "Oh no! We've got to get going then!" Biyomon yelled. "MIMI! EVERYONE! YELL 'BAKEMON LOSE YOUR POWER!' WE CAN ESCAPE IF WE KEEP YELLING THAT!" Sora yelled at the top of her lungs as she grabbed the microphone and started running towards the exit. "BAKEMON LOSE YOUR POWER!" Ally yelled as the chant was slowly picked up by the crowd in the convention center.

"BAKEMON LOSE YOUR POWER!" The chant shook the center as Sora, Mimi, Taylor, Ally, and their partners reached the door. "Almost there…" Taylor pushed through the doors first, holding them open as Sora, Mimi, and Ally followed through. "COME ON EVERYONE!" Sora yelled through the boombox as the chant continued. The crowd began to make its way through the doors as the Bakemon lay on the ground, twitching in pain. "ENOUGH OF THIS!" Another voice growled in anger. "DIABOLIC STAR!" A ball and chain imbued with dark energy slammed into the boombox, destroying it instantly and stunning Sora. "RUN!" She screamed as a mysterious digimon flew in front of her. "Hah! Run from me, puny mortals!" The digimon laughed. "What digimon is that?!" Mimi shrieked as her digivice activated. "Phantomon is an ultimate level digimon who works for Myotismon! He collects various items and entities for Myotismon, which can range from souls, to little children." Palmon's eyes widened. "Let's go!" Ally grabbed a hold of Sora and began to run from Phantomon. "Move girl!" Taylor yelled as she, Palmon, and Mimi began to run as well.

"Hah! I'll take care of them later." Phantomon cackled and watched as the Bakemon began to panic at the sight of all of the revolting people fighting back against the ghost digimon. "Hmph. I guess intimidation is necessary. DARKTYRANNOMON!" Phantomon raised his scythe and a massive digimon appeared, standing ominously over the bridge, tunnel, and convention center itself. The large t-rex digimon was very similar to Tyrannomon, except its normal bright red skin had been changed to a pure black color. Phantomon continued to laugh evilly, watching as DarkTyrannomon roared angrily, reaching for a small group of people who had escaped from the convention center.

"NO! STAY AWAY FROM THEM!" Mimi yelled as she saw the evil digimon reach for the group of people. "PALMON, GO GET THEM!" She pointed as Palmon ran towards DarkTyrannomon. "PALMON DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO TOGEMON!" She body slammed into DarkTyrannomon, throwing the digimon back and drawing its attention to her. "HEY! WHY DON'T YOU PICK ON SOMEONE WITH SOME NEEDLE SPRAY?!" The spiny needles only served to annoy DarkTyrannomon, as the enraged digimon punched Togemon, sending the champion digimon back onto the ground. "What even is that…" Mimi gasped as she saw her partner hit the ground. "DarkTyrannomon is a powerful champion level digimon that was originally a Tyrannomon, but was possessed by a virus and thus causing it to lose its sense of reason. It's Fire Blast attack will scorch its enemy before they even have time to get to water!" Her digivice read off quickly, and Mimi's eyes widened. "Well, this isn't good." Taylor remarked dryly as Togemon stood up again, only to be the recipient of another punch from DarkTyrannomon.

"MOM! DAD!" Mimi called out as she saw her parents running away from the DarkTyrannomon as well. "Oh sweetie! We were so worried about you!" They hugged her, and stared at Taylor. "Before you ask, that's Palmon up there. She's trying to protect us all." Taylor fielded off the question that she found was inevitably coming. "Can she do it in that form?" Mr. Tachikawa wondered quietly to himself. "She has to. Sora and Ally ran off somewhere, and they're the only ones with an Ultimate form in the area…" Mimi realized quietly. "TOGEMON!" She cried out again as her partner flew over their heads. "HEY! YOU BIG MEANIE DARKTYRANNOMON! WHAT GIVES YOU THE RIGHT TO JUST SEND PEOPLE FLYING, HEAD OVER HEELS?!" She began walking up to the DarkTyrannomon, only stopped by Taylor. "Not a good idea, Mimi. It would just distract Togemon more, even though that she's getting her butt kicked anyways." Taylor pointed out as Togemon struggled to stand up. "There's got to be something that I can do to help her though!" Mimi protested. "I know, but Togemon is strong. She'll pull something off." Taylor held her back.

"Mimi darling, we've got to get out of here!" Mrs. Tachikawa pulled at her daughter's arm. "I can't mom, not while Togemon is still trying to beat this nasty digimon." Mimi shook her mom off and stared up at her friend, who was exchanging punches with DarkTyrannomon. "GRAH!" DarkTyrannomon dodged one of Togemon's fists and sent the cactus digimon crashing into another building, leaving a crater in it. "TOGEMON!" Mimi screamed as the DarkTyrannomon turned its attention to the small group. "LISTEN, YOU BIG BULLY! YOU ARE SO IN FOR IT NOW!" Mimi got angry, causing her parents to try to calm her down. "Mimi darling, it'll be okay. Someone will come rescue us!" Her dad exclaimed while dodging Mimi's pink hat. "NO!" She yelled, stepping back from her parents. "No?" Mrs. Tachikawa's eyes widened. "No… No more." Mimi hung her head. "I told myself when I got back here, that after all I've been through in the Digital World… I couldn't hide my feelings anymore from anyone. I have to be the purest me that there is. I have to let myself be real and be me." A small tear fell from Mimi's cheek as her Crest began to glow.

"Mimi! Your Crest! Your sincerity is powering it!" Taylor pointed to the Crest as Mimi stared up at DarkTyrannomon. "You have messed with the wrong Mimi and the WRONG FAMILY!" She stomped her foot as Togemon began to glow, as well as Mimi's digivice. "TOGEMOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON!" The yellow crown-flower on top of Togemon's head began to grow into a bulb while Togemon's eyes and mouth opening flashed a bright yellow color. "DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" The bulb changed colors from yellow to a dark pink flower that slowly opened up, revealing a pink fairy with part of a pink lily flower adorning her head. With flower petals surrounding her petit hands, the digimon straightened out and revealed her four leafy wings and lily-like covering that also applied to her shoes. "LILLYMOOOOOOON!" Lillymon struck a pose as flower petals fell down around her.

"Who's ready for some bad guy ownage now?!" Lillymon cheered as she flew around DarkTyrannomon's head, distracting it. "Over here, big boy!" She called to the digimon, appearing behind it, letting Mimi, Taylor, and her parents get away. "FLOWER CANNOOOOOOON!" She put her hands together and let the petals create a cannon that fired off an intense blast of energy, striking DarkTyrannomon's face and causing it to stumble. "There you go big boy!" Lillymon playfully yelled as she flew around the digimon's head again. "I think it's time for you to think about your actions in time out! FLOWER WREATH!" She flew quickly around the DarkTyrannomon as a rope of flowers and vines appeared where she flew. "Hiyah!" She flew downwards and the rope fell as well, tightening itself around the neck and causing DarkTyrannomon's eyes to turn from their blood red to a more peaceable blue color. "That's how we do it!" Lillymon cheered.

"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?!" A loud voice roared as Lillymon spun to face Myotismon himself. "Your big bad dinosaur isn't so bad with a pretty collar of flowers on him." She informed the digimon, causing Myotismon to growl angrily. "BEGONE!" He waved his hand at the DarkTyrannomon, which was instantly destroyed. "Well that's not very nice at all! FLOWER CANNON!" Lillymon, having taken offence at the destruction of her flower wreath, went on the offensive. "LILLYMON, BE CAREFUL!" Mimi yelled as Phantomon and five more Bakemon appeared behind her parents, Taylor, and herself. "Uh… Mimi? We've got company!" Taylor's voice rose in alarm as the girls and Mimi's parents spotted Phantomon. "NOW!" One of the Bakemon shouted, and with a quick flourish of white cloth, Sora, Biyomon, Ally, Kangamon, and Mrs. Takenouchi revealed themselves. "SPIRAL TWISTER!" Biyomon surprised Phantomon, allowing Taylor to dodge around the Ultimate level digimon. "Come on Mimi!" She yelled as the girl stood there, frozen in her spot. "I can't leave Lillymon!" She protested, watching her friend do battle with Myotismon in the sky.

"Enough of this! I tire of playing games." Myotismon took another Flower Cannon to the face. "Can't keep up with a little pixie?" Lillymon asked teasingly, noticing that Myotismon was growing tired. "BAH! NIGHTMARE CLAW!" Myotismon yelled, his expression wild, as a ghost appeared from his hands and struck Lillymon, paralyzing the Ultimate instantly and sending her plummeting to the ground. "LILLYMON! NO!" Mimi shrieked as another pair of real Bakemon began to drag her and her mom away. "SORA! Go! Get Lillymon and get out of here!" Mrs. Takenouchi yelled as she wielded the white cloth as a whip against Phantomon. "Biyomon! Digivolve and catch Lillymon!" Sora yelled, running away with both Taylor and Ally from her mom, who was being taken back into the convention center. "BIYOMON DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO BIRDRAMON!" The majestic bird quickly caught Lillymon's petrified body as Myotismon flew back into the convention center himself. "GAH!" Sora began to cry as she saw her mom walk back into the convention center, followed by several Bakemon. "Hey, let's not cry now. We've got to get to a safe place before anything else happens." Taylor hugged her as Birdramon landed. "Let's take a ride for now. It'll be faster." Ally suggested, looking up at Birdramon, who simply nodded. "Hang on tight, everyone. I'll see if I can locate Matt, Tai, or Izzy." Taylor took Sora's digivice and started sending out messages. "We almost had everyone…" Kangamon sighed, thinking of Mimi inside the convention center, not knowing that the girl was causing all kinds of ruckus for the Bakemon by throwing shoes at them.

Myotismon has upped the ante once again! With one digimon seemingly out of the picture for now and the powerful Phantomon joining the battle, things have only gotten worse for the Digidestined. How will they best Myotismon when he has almost all of the cards in his hands?


	39. Taylor's Downfall

Disclaimer! I own only my OCs and potentially a few of the OC digimon. Everything else is owned by Saban Brands.

Hope you all enjoy and don't forget to review!

Try Chapter 39

"What do you mean the ferry is closed again?" Ms. Ishida asked the captain of the ferry. "I'm sorry ma'am, but the fog is too thick for any ship to safely get through." He blocked the entrance to the ferry. "Hm…" She turned around and walked back to Linzi, TK, and their partners. "The ferry is closed today, guys." She told them. "No worries." Linzi pointed to Torpedomon. "That's true…" Ms. Ishida sighed and frowned. "I worry about you guys while you're over there." She hugged her son, who smiled softly. "Don't worry mama! Linzi is really great at keeping me safe." "It seems like there's someone else here who is pretty good at crossing waters." Linzi pointed in the distance, where the group could see Joe, Luke, and their partners running towards them. "HEY YOU GUYS!" They heard Joe yelling.

"Is the ferry open today?" Luke asked. "No. The fog is too thick." Linzi pointed out across the pier, watching as the fog slowly rolled across the river. "It doesn't feel right to me…" Gomamon stared at the fog. "There's no communication between Odaiba and the outside world." Ravenmon hopped on one foot nervously. "Are the digivices working?" TK asked quietly. "It's bizarre, but no, no technology is working through the fog." Joe shook his head. "We can't send messages then…" Patamon's eyes widened. "But we can get through." Linzi stated determinedly. "Gomamon, do you and Torpedomon want to power through the fog for a bit till we get to Odaiba?" Joe asked. "Let's go for it. We need to get over there one way or another." Gomamon nodded. "Alright, in the water with you two then!" Linzi cheered and shooed the two into the water. "Ms. Ishida, I promise that I'll keep him safe." She turned to Ms. Ishida and bowed quickly. "Thank you, Linzi." A tear shimmered in the corner of her eye as she hugged the teen.

"Let's go!" The group ran off the pier and next to the beach. "TORPEDOMON DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO DOLFINOMON!" "GOMAMON DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO IKKAKUMON!" The two champion-level digimon sat gently in the water. "Ikkakumon, TK and I will ride on you while Luke and Linzi will ride on Dolfinomon." Joe told his partner. "Ravenmon, be sure to not fly during this. I don't want you getting lost in the fog." Luke let his partner rest in his arms. "Alright, I can do that." Ravenmon, despite his worry for Gatomon, agreed to do so. "Patamon, you stay with us too. I don't want to lose you." TK hugged his partner, who nodded and nuzzled him slightly. "Be safe, please." Ms. Ishida watched the two champion digimon carry the Digidestined off into the fog banks.

The fog gradually thickened around the two digimon as they stuck near each other. "Does anybody get the feeling that something very wrong is going on here?" Joe asked, his voice being muffled by the fog. "This fog isn't natural. That much is clear." Luke agreed. "Dolfinomon, is there anything beneath the water that's messing something up?" Linzi asked as TK stared over the edge of Ikkakumon's back. "Just looking briefly, I can't see anything, but something's definitely wrong." Dolfinomon reported quickly. "It doesn't feel right…" TK shuddered while Patamon tried to comfort the young boy. "Wait, what's that?" Ikkakumon turned his head slightly to look at the water. "What's what?" Dolfinomon asked, sticking her head underwater as well. "I don't see anything…" Dolfinomon said quietly. "I don't either, which is what worries me." Ikkakumon sped up quickly, forcing Dolfinomon to follow. "There's a current underneath us." Dolfinomon realized quickly. "It's really strong, which is why I'm trying to get to the shore quickly." Ikkakumon pushed forward, his voice straining.

"MOVE TO THE RIGHT!" Dolfinomon yelled as she dived to the right, forcing Ikkakumon over as well, just barely avoiding the powerful blast of water flying up. "There's something here with us…" Joe's jaw dropped as the large serpentine creature rose out of the water and glared at the two digimon. "WHOOOOO DARETH CROSS THESE WATERS! THOU SHALT DIE!" The digimon slipped beneath the water again, causing Dolfinomon and Ikkakumon to begin to swim away as fast as possible. "What was that digimon?!" TK asked, frightened. "MegaSeadramon is an ultimate level digimon who is unkind to trespassers in his territory! His Thunder Javelin and Mail Storm attack will crash any seafaring vessel to pieces." His digivice blared quickly. "Ultimate…" Linzi gasped. "To put it simply, the last time I dealt with an Ultimate digimon that wasn't Myotismon, it took a roller coaster along with Dolfinomon digivolving to Meermaimon, her ultimate form, to beat it." Dolfinomon drew closer to Ikkakumon. "Joe, Luke, take TK and Patamon, okay? Dolfinomon and I have a little fish to spear." Joe and Luke took TK's hands and lifted both him and Patamon onto Ikkakumon.

"DOLFINOMON!" Linzi yelled as MegaSeadramon came out of the water again, its electrifying horn charging up. "I'm on it." Dolfinomon charged towards MegaSeadramon. "DOLFINOMON!" The digimon's blue and white skin began to extend to form a dual-pronged tail that looked a lot like a mermaid's tail. The skin also changed color to a sunrise pink and maroon color. Her fins that served as wings became more streamlined and shifted downwards near her tail. "DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Dolfinomon lost her horn, and the fins on the upper part of her body changed until they became arms, with a sea-green trident appear in a flash of light in one of her hands. Dolfinomon's seal-like face also quickly formed into a more human-like face, with long, flowing burgundy hair trailing her. "MEERMAIMON!" Meermaimon with Linzi on her back dodged MegaSeadramon's horn stabbing where they had been. "Now, attack its underbelly!" Linzi yelled, and Meermaimon obliged. "PROTECTOR OF THE SEA! MERMAID'S TRIDENT!" She thrust her trident, now glowing blue, into MegaSeadramon's underbelly, causing it to roar in pain. "Now, let's get out of there." Linzi told her friend, who obliged and began moving as fast as possible away from MegaSeadramon's thrashes.

"IF I CAN'T HAVE ALL OF YOU, I'LL HAVE MOST OF YOU!" MegaSeadramon screamed and started charging at Ikkakumon. "IKKAKUMON!" Joe yelled and Ikkakumon burst into action. "HARPOON TORPEDO!" His attack struck MegaSeadramon dead on and slowed the digimon down. "YOU WON'T STOP ME!" MegaSeadramon's horn began to charge again. "MAIL STORM!" He threw his head into the water and a whirlpool began to form. "THUNDER JAVELIN!" The second attack struck Ikkakumon dead on due to his slow speed. "NO!" Linzi screamed as Ikkakumon was thrown up into the air, watching as her friends were thrown off of his back. "RAVENMON!" Luke yelled and the bird digimon squawked. "RAVENMON DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO TOUCAMON!" Toucamon caught Luke and flew back into the air, minding the fog.

Joe landed roughly in the water as the whirlpool nearby forced him underwater. 'NO!' He yelled in his mind as he saw Ikkakumon land near him. 'IKKAKUMON!' Joe reached out to his friend as the pressure of the water pushed him down as he slowly sank farther and farther underneath the surface of the water. It didn't take too long until the pressure began to kick in and Joe slowly lost his breath. 'Please… No… I can't… Fail… TK… Or the others…' Joe lost consciousness and began spiraling towards the whirlpool.

Nearby, Ikkakumon hung on to the edge of consciousness and watched as his partner was sucked into the whirlpool. "NO!" Ikkakumon roared as he dived towards the whirlpool himself, using the last of his strength to reach Joe. "I told you… We're a team… And teams always stay together…" Ikkakumon's eyes closed as well right as Joe's Crest began to glow. 'Partners… FOREVER!' A voice floated through the water, raising TK and Patamon up to the surface of the water. "IKKAKUMOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON!" Ikkakumon's fur fell off, revealing a quickly growing spiky brown shell that covered his back. He also tripled in size, a orange mustache growing as he stood up on two legs. "DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" The new digimon roared, his horn transforming into a lightning-bolt shape horn. "ZUDOMON!" Zudomon stuck out his hand and a bolt of lightning struck it, creating a massive hammer that Zudomon seized and slammed it onto the water, creating a large wave and destroying the whirlpool instantly.

"JOE!" Zudomon yelled as he gently picked up his friend. "Over here!" Meermaimon, Toucamon, Linzi, and Luke were nearby. "We still need TK." Zudomon's booming voice echoed over the river told the others that he didn't know where TK was. "Let me try something." Meermaimon stated quietly. "SONG OF THE SIREN! CONTROLLER OF CALM WAVES!" She began to sing hauntingly as the waves conformed to her desires, bringing TK and Patamon, who were already on top of the water, to her. "I've got them." Linzi reached over and pulled the two up onto Meermaimon's back. "NOW! TIME FOR YOU TO BEGONE!" Zudomon turned and faced MegaSeadramon, growingly angrily. "THOR'S HAMMER!" He raised his hammer, which was struck by electricity at that moment, and threw it as hard as he could at MegaSeadramon, who, not expecting the attack, was thrown back by the force. "NOOOO! MY BEAUTIFUL WAVES!" He slowly was destroyed and the group watched as his data particles flew into the sky.

"Let's get to shore, and hurry." Zudomon laid down in the water, being sure to keep Joe in a safe place on his shell, and he began to speed through the water and fog to Odaiba. "Well, let's follow him." Meermaimon followed Zudomon, as Toucamon hung behind. "What's up, buddy? Let's get to Odaiba." Luke pointed in the general direction of Odaiba. "I saw something, and I need to pick it up." Toucamon answered quietly, swooping down to the water. "There." He flew over to a small humanoid shape and picked it up out of the water. "What is it?" Luke asked, staring at the small purple cloak. "This is Wizardmon." Toucamon sighed and got ready to begin explaining. "Last night, I snuck out as I had that feeling like something big was going to happen. I was flying to Odaiba, but was sidetracked when I saw Gatomon and this Wizardmon. It turned out that Wizardmon and I had the same goal, to open Gatomon's eyes to Myotismon's trickery and evil, and when I left them, they were going to talk to Tai and Kari, who is Tai's younger sister, because she is the final Japanese digidestined." Toucamon explained quickly. "Well, that explains a lot then." Luke raised his eyebrows. "Let's go and land then, so we can see how Wizardmon is doing." "Alright, time to catch up." Luke tightened his grip on Toucamon's leg as the champion digimon sped up into the fog.

Tai ran down the fire escape as Agumon, Kari, Tiffany, and Coomon barreled after him as Bakemon piled up against the glass door onto the balcony of the apartment. "FASTER!" He yelled as the glass shattered, sending the glass shards onto the balcony. "PEPPER BREATH!" Agumon, at the back of the line, fired off an attack and surprised the Bakemon. "Let's go! We've got to get to the Convention Center!" Tai yelled as he glanced at his digivice, seeing the message from Mimi on it. "Over there!" He pointed to the underhang of a building that was out of view from the apartment. Tiffany nodded quickly and picked up Coomon. "You're faster when I carry you." She told him as he pouted. "No fussing." She chided softly as she jumped off of the fire escape. "Let's go!" She told Agumon who fired off one more ball of fire at the Bakemon to keep them from leaving the fire escape.

"We can't stay here for too long." Tai whispered as they stayed underneath the awning of the building. "Yeah, you're right. Where can we go though?" Tiffany asked quietly. "The closest 'safe place' by the convention center is the hospital. We should try to get there first." Tai answered confidently. "Let's go quickly though. We don't have much time to get there." Agumon looked around as the silent city lay unmoving. "It would be in our best interests to go now." Coomon nodded. "Well, then there's no point in hiding out here." Tai peeked out cautiously, checking the surrounding area and saw that it was deserted. "Let's go." He beckoned and the group began running down the street.

The hospital was only a short ways away from the previous safe spot and Tai's apartment. "Be quiet…" Tiffany glanced around the area. "Let's check inside the hospital first, for any patients…" Tai suggested. "Bad idea. Let me go in and look around first. You guys stay out here and watch out for anything." Tiffany rejected his idea, and taking Coomon, walked inside of the hospital. "I'd say just keep our eyes open, okay?" Tai questioned. "Yeah, I'll take this corner." Agumon nodded. "Kari, stay with me." Tai grabbed Kari's hand and pulled her with him. "Tai, I can take care of myself." She protested. "Don't be silly. You're safer with me." Tai ignored her protests and the two watched the other side of the building. "I think I see something…" Tai whispered quietly and he pulled Kari behind a pillar that held the underhang up. "It's Matt and Michael…"

"Hey guys! Over here!" Matt called quietly. "Hey guys. What's going on?" Tai smiled softly. "Not too shabby. We just had to fight off a few Bakemon and we were planning to get Jacob, but it seems like everyone's gone to the Convention Center." Michael pointed to the building at the end of the street. "That's where I was headed too, but Tiffany wanted to check in the hospital for anyone still in there." Tai nodded. "This is your sister, Kari, right?" Chinchilmon ran up to the little girl, who giggled at the small rookie. "You're so fluffy!" She exclaimed and began to pet Chinchilmon, who snuggled up to her. "Hey, I thought you were my digimon!" Michael gasped indignantly, getting a laugh out of Kari. "Say… Would you guys be willing to stay here and watch Kari for me until I get back from the Convention Center?" Tai asked, looking at Matt intently.

"I don't think that would really be a good idea. It'd be best to wait for Tiffany so that the two of you could power through the Bakemon that are there." Michael objected. "Mimi needs my help. She doesn't have a digimon partner with her because Lillymon was taken." Tai told him. "Still doesn't change what I said. Mimi is very capable of annoying the Bakemon." He laughed slightly. Tai grumbled and turned away to call Agumon over to them. "Heads up. We've got more company." Gabumon pointed over in the distance as another human ran towards them. "No worries. It looks like that's my dad…" Matt realized quickly and ran towards his dad. "DAD! What are you doing here?" He was wrapped up into his dad's arms. "I was so worried about you." Mr. Ishida breathed a sigh of relief. "I was at the T.V. Station. It was overrun with those ghost digimon, which was really nerve-wracking, but I managed to get out of there." He smiled. "That's good to hear. Is anyone else in there?" Michael asked. "No. I was the last one left." Mr. Ishida shook his head.

"In that case… Mr. Ishida, will you take me to the Convention Center so I can break everyone out?" Tai asked, staring into the man's eyes with puppy dog eyes. "Don't listen to him. He's got to stay here until our friend gets back." Michael waved Tai off. "Wrong. AGUMON! Let's go get everyone out of here!" Tai dashed off towards the Convention Center, Agumon hot on his heels. "Don't be stupid, Tai. This is what happened last time." Michael sighed and facepalmed. "Don't worry. You kids stay here, and I'll go after him." Mr. Ishida reassured him. "Thanks dad. Good luck." Matt hugged his dad as he ran off after Tai and Agumon.

Matt watched as Tai and Agumon ran towards the convention center, leaving Kari in his hands. ¨They´ll be fine.¨ Michael reassured him, putting his hand on Matt´s shoulder. ¨I know that. I just can´t help but worry." Matt sighed and hugged Gabumon. "If it makes ya feel any better, we're here now too." Ally's voice surprised the two, and they turned around. "Sora!" Matt yelled and ran to hug the girl. "You're safe?" He marveled. "You were in the convention center last I knew." Gabumon nodded. "I sure am glad that you guys got out." Chinchilmon piped up and Sora laughed at the small digimon. "No worries. Although, it's not all good news. Mimi's still stuck in there without Palmon." Taylor appeared from the shadows of the building. "Togemon also digivolved into Lilymon, but Myotismon turned her to stone, so Birdramon brought her here with us." Matt saw Mimi's partner encased in stone, lying on the ground, and gasped. "Is she okay?" Michael asked, looking the digimon over. "She seems to be fine, just petrified. A magic-wielding digimon can return her to normal." Kangamon hopped up next to them. "That's good to hear." Chinchilmon ran around the petrified Lilymon.

Suddenly, a shockwave rocked the building and caused a part of the ceiling to crumble and fall to the ground. "Let's get out of here. It's not safe." Michael grabbed one half of Lilymon as Ally grabbed the other half, and the two ran out from under the entryway to the building, quickly followed by their partners,, as well as Sora and Matt and their partners.

"Oh… We walked right into that one." Gabumon stared at the three digimon in front of them. "Phantomon is an ultimate level digimon who works for Myotismon! He collects various items and entities for Myotismon, which can range from souls, to little children." Matt's digivice read off. "Oh, have I found some puny little digidestined?" Phantomon laughed ominously. "You won't get us that easily!" Kari yelled defiantly. "Is that right, little girl? I think my friends will have something else to say about that." Phantomon, covered in a red cape and hood, as well as grey cloak, stepped back and let his allies charge at the digidestined.

"Tuskmon, a champion level dinosaur-like digimon. His Slamming Tusk attack is sure to pulverize his opponents!" Sora's digivice went alerted them. "Snimon, a champion level insect digimon. It's Twin Sickles attack slices up his enemies regardless of their level!" Ally's digivice told the group. "Gabumon!" Matt yelled as the two digimon charged at the group. "I'm on it!" Gabumon jumped towards the two digimon. "GABUMON DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO GARURUMON!" "BIYOMON, YOU TOO!" Sora yelled. "BIYOMON DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO BIRDRAMON!" The four champion-level digimon stared each other down.

"BLUE BLASTER!" Garurumon shot the attack off at Snimon, who took to the air, letting Birdramon go after it. "Birdramon, you take Snimon. I'll handle Tuskmon." The growling digimon charged at Tuskmon, dodging the enraged digimon's tusks. "METEOR WING!" Birdramon struck Snimon dead on, sending the digimon hurtling to the ground. "TWIN SICKLES!" Snimon fired an attack off up into the air, striking Birdramon as well and sending the flying digimon spiraling away. "BIRDRAMON!" Sora yelled, watching as her partner righted herself. "I'll just scoop right in here, then." Phantomon neared Kari, who screamed, and Sora stepped in front of the girl. "Over my dead body." She hissed at the digimon. "NOW, GUYS!" Matt yelled, signaling Michael and Ally to charge. "NOW DIGIMON!" The two yelled. "CHINCHILMON DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO TRILEPTIMON!" "KANGAMON DIGIVOLVE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO TUNIPYMON!" The extra two digimon stopped Phantomon in his tracks, forcing him to rethink his strategy.

"Well, that wasn't very nice." The phantom digimon growled, staring at the two digimon in front of him. "I tend to not be nice to my enemies." Tunipymon jumped into the air. "BRANCH CRUSH!" Her attack slammed into the ground, creating a shockwave that missed Phantomon entirely, as the digimon had floated into the air. "ASTIRE STRIKE!" Trileptimon fired off his attack as well, missing Phantomon as well. "SHADOW SCYTHE!" Phantomon's attack blasted into Trileptimon and Tunipymon, sending them crashing into the building and forcing them to dedigivolve almost instantly. "CHINCHILMON!" Michael yelled as he ran back to his partner. "KANGAMON!" Ally followed him, seriously worried for her partner's health. "That's what I thought." Phantomon stepped forward, only to be blocked by Sora again. "Stay away from her!" Sora yelled, scared for her life, as well as Kari's. "Sora, be careful!" Matt warned the girl as he drew closer to her, watching Garurumon's battle with Tuskmon.

"Stop playing around, Snimon and Tuskmon. It's time to end this, and soon." Phantomon hissed as the two enemy digimon upped the ante with their attacks. "BIRDRAMON!" Sora yelled as Snimon barely missed the flying digimon. "BIRDRAMON (her digivolution)

Garudamon swatted Snimon down easily, choosing to ignore the insect digimon in favor of protecting Garurumon from the enraged Tuskmon. "SLAMMING TUSK!" Tuskmon slammed into Garurumon, sending the weakened digimon back, barely missing Michael and Ally, who were carrying their partners. "This isn't good." Matt's eyes widened as he and Sora stood in front of Kari, blocking her from Phantomon. "Get out of my way." The angry ultimate spat, as Garudamon stopped Tuskmon from attacking them. "Never. You won't get her." Sora, fury in her eyes, stared Phantomon down. "Well, that's rather unfortunate." Phantomon turned away and spotted someone out of the corner of his eye. Grinning maliciously, the digimon melted into a shadow and seemingly vanished, leaving Snimon and Tuskmon to fight Garudamon.

"Is he gone?" Sora looked around cautiously, taking care to not move from Kari's side. "I think so." Kari turned around and looked from the back, seeing Michael and Ally standing in the open, holding their partners gingerly, looking around as well. Suddenly, the five heard a scream coming from the right. They immediately went on high alert and watched as Phantomon floated out of the corner, grinning maliciously as he held Taylor against his body, his scythe against her neck. "Let go of me, you big brute!" She kicked and fought, before freezing up as he pressed down on the scythe. "Okay, I won't move."

Michael growled at Phantomon as he simply floated there, waiting for someone to make a move. "Well, as I see it, you have one of two options. Either you tell me where the 8th digidestined is, or I kill your little friend here." Kari gasped, and Ally's eyes began to water. "How can we tell you something that we don't know?" Sora bluffed. "Is that so? There's something in your eyes that tells me that you're lying." Phantomon began to press down again, watching as Taylor sucked her throat in as far as it would go. "Don't do it, guys!" She yelled at her friends, who's resolve she could tell were wavering. "Be quiet, you." Phantomon growled, and she closed her mouth, glaring at Phantomon.

"I…." Matt's jaw was open, as he stared at Phantomon. "We don't know. How are we supposed to tell you?" He protested as Gabumon walked up to him and collapsed. "I know that you're lying. It's in your eyes, your body language, the way that you use your words. TELL ME!" Phantomon began to draw blood as Taylor squeaked out a pained yelp. "NO!" Kari yelled as she closed her eyes and squeezed her fists. "LEAVE HER ALONE!" She yelled, and Phantomon relaxed his grip on the blade momentarily. Sora turned to Kari and stared the girl in the eyes. 'Her mind is made up…' She paled as Kari began to speak. "It's me you want." She pushed Matt and Sora out of the way. "Oh? We have ourselves a capture?" Phantomon let Taylor go as the girl fell to the ground and began crawling away, clutching her neck and trying to soothe it.

"I'll just take you back to Myotismon then. Snimon, Tuskmon, retreat." The two digimon began to leave the area, leaving Garudamon alone. "Now, digidestined, the next time I see you, it will most likely be for your death at the hands of Myotismon." Phantomon grabbed Kari and began floating into the air. "Oh, that reminds me." Phantomon turned back around to the digidestined. "SHADOW SCYTHE!" Two blasts of gray energy flew towards Taylor, still crawling on the ground. "NO, TAYLOR MOVE!" Michael yelled as the attack connected with her, sending her up into the air, where she screamed before slamming her back into the ground with a loud pop. "MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Phantomon flew away quickly towards the massive radio station, leaving the four digidestined and their partners at the slowly collapsing building.

"Taylor, speak to me, please." Ally was sitting next to the broken body of the girl, who could only smile at the group. "No, Taylor, please don't go." Sora sniffled and began to cry as she slowly realized the consequences of the attack. "You've got to hang in there. We need you." Matt wiped the beginning of tears out of his eyes. Michael stared down at Taylor, the dark energy still surrounding her, slowly destroying her soul. She laid at a weird angle, the vast majority of her bones broken from the height that Phantomon dropped her from. A small trickle of blood dripped out from the corner of her mouth as she used her eyes to communicate with the digidestined there.

"She doesn't have much time left." Michael whispered quietly. "Please don't go Taylor. We love you." Ally began to sob, leading Michael to get down on the ground and hug the girl. "Taylor, thank you for everything that you've helped us with, and all the memories that we've made with you." Matt began to cry as well, while Sora was nearing collapse with how hard she was crying. "Taylor, please stay… We love you…" Chinchilmon curled up at the girl's feet and began to cry. "Taylor… Please don't go…" The now dedigivolved Yokomon hopped up to Sora and snuggled against the girl. "Love… You… Guys…" Taylor croaked out before she gasped in pain. "Save your strength. We'll get TK here and Angemon can heal you." Kangamon gasped as Taylor's eyes began to close. "Don't… Worry… Stop… Myotismon…" Taylor smiled despite her pain and she went limp as her eyes closed.

Michael buried his head in Ally's shoulder as he began to cry, while Ally's sobs only intensified. Matt and Sora hugged their digimon partners while they cried, while Chinchilmon snuggled up to Michael as Kangamon did the same for Ally. "We should probably let the rest of the group know what happened." Matt murmured quietly, fighting through the tears. "I'll do it." Michael pulled out his digivice and hit the message button. "To all. Message is Phantomon killed Taylor. I repeat, Phantomon killed Taylor near the radio building. Sora, Matt, Ally, and Michael are there with their partners very tired and exhausted from the battle with Tuskmon, Snimon, and Phantomon. Please make your way here if at all possible." He ended the message and his head dropped back down. The group sat there, waiting to see what would come next, if Taylor would suddenly come back to life unexpectedly.

A small shadow came into view, and Michael stood up, pulling his knife out. "Stay back." He hissed at the shadow, which came fully into view as the young thief, Dagger. "Relax. I think it's you all that need help at this point." Michael recognized Dagger as the one who had saved Matt, and relaxed slightly. "You guys, go get to the Convention Center. I'll take care of her." Dagger pointed to Taylor's body. "Are you sure?" Ally's voice was shaky. "Yes. Your friends are in trouble. It's time for you to go there now." Dagger nodded, and threw a knife behind him, revealing a Bakemon behind the group. "GO! RUN!" He yelled as more Bakemon appeared around them. "HIYAH!" He began to backflip as the group ran towards the Convention Center. "TAKE SOME OF THIS!" Dagger stabbed one of the Bakemon, causing it to explode into data particles.

"Let's be fast about this. There's no telling what could happen." Michael led the pack and stopped at the intersection, staring at the hoards of Bakemon at the other end of the street. "LET'S GO!" Matt yelled, fire in his eyes, as the group ran towards the Bakemon, startling the ghostly digimon and causing them to begin panicking. "PUSH THROUGH AND MAKE IT TO THE INSIDE OF THE CONVENTION CENTER!" Tai roared as he appeared from the inside of the Convention Center, Greymon blasting down Bakemon from the inside. "Let's do this. For Taylor." Ally nodded, her eyes misting up.

And with a devastating loss for the Digidestined, Myotismon has unleashed their true fury. What lies in store for the Digidestined next? Is Jacob fully recovered from his ordeal? With the final battle looming on them, the Digidestined must muster every ounce of strength in order to defeat Myotismon once and for all!


End file.
